Deputy subject of probe

The state attorney general's office will investigate allegations about a man hired to be a new deputy in Flathead County just before he was arrested by a SWAT team Thursday.

The arrest of Rick Rossmiller, 37, by men who would have been his coworkers from the sheriff's office, shocked his former boss.

Rossmiller arrived this week from Chouteau County, where he was reportedly a well-regarded officer.

"He was very professional. We didn't expect this at all," said Sheriff Doug Williams.

Rossmiller was a reserve officer and then a deputy, a deputy coroner and a jail administrator for Chouteau County.

He was the kind of deputy that other agencies would request when they needed an outside investigator, Williams said.

Now, an outside agency is investigating whether Rossmiller stole from people who trusted him and used his law-enforcement position in Chouteau County to cover it up.

After Rossmiller went through orientation Wednesday in Kalispell, Sheriff Jim Dupont received a tip that Rossmiller had arrived with property stolen from Chouteau County. It reportedly included a chain-link fence stolen from a school and a hot tub stolen from an absentee neighbor of Rossmiller's. At the time, Rossmiller investigated and wrote reports about the thefts he himself is now accused of committing.

Dupont sent Rossmiller home for the day Thursday while officers investigated the allegations. They reportedly found the fence in Rossmiller's truck, and the hot tub and other allegedly stolen items at Rossmiller's former

girlfriend's house.

When officers tried to contact Rossmiller later in the day, he answered neither the phone nor the door. A neighbor reported hearing something like a gunshot and officials feared that Rossmiller might hurt himself or stage a standoff with officers in despair over the criminal investigation against him.

The sheriff's office SWAT team and patrol officers, assisted by Kalispell police, entered his apartment in west Kalispell where he was described as sweating profusely when he was arrested and said he had been sleeping.

He was arrested for allegedly possessing stolen property and was booked into the county jail.

Dupont said Friday that the duplicate Flathead County charges will likely be dropped against Rossmiller if he winds up charged with felony theft in Chouteau County. He may also be charged with official misconduct.

He said Williams apologized to him for giving Rossmiller a glowing recommendation.

Williams said his nine-officer department is still "kind of in shock" over the matter.

"He had a dark side going on if all of this true," Williams said of his former officer. "We're used to dealing with people doing this, but not one of our own."

He said his department is going through old cases that Rossmiller handled to see if there seems to be anything inappropriate about them. The investigation by the Criminal Investigations Bureau of the attorney general's office will be detailed, he predicted.

"It's going to be a while," before the matter is resolved, he said.

It's the first time his department has been involved in something like this, Williams said.

He and Dupont are relieved that the SWAT action ended Thursday in Rossmiller's peaceful arrest, and not gunfire.

"He is a tactical trained officer," Williams said. He said he is thankful Rossmiller didn't use that training to hurt anyone or himself.

Williams is grateful for the way Dupont and other officers handled the incident.

"They've done it right," he said.