Sheriff's Office corporal to be sentenced Jan. 28

The Flathead County Sheriff’s Office corporal charged with driving under the influence of alcohol in August is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 28 in Kalispell Municipal Court.

Sentencing for Bruce Parish originally was set for Dec. 10, but an alleged victim came forward with medical bills and demands for restitution, causing the hearing to be continued, according to the City Attorney’s office.

“It’s expected that the hearing will go forward at the new date at which time the victim can explain to the court why he thinks he should be entitled to restitution and in what amount,” Assistant City Attorney Kristi Curtis said.

Parish has pleaded no contest to operating a vehicle with a blood-alcohol content of .08 or higher — also know as DUI per se —which is an alternative charge to DUI that has the same practical effects but means prosecutors require no additional proof that he was intoxicated.

He was arrested Aug. 28 with a blood-alcohol content of .165 after Kalispell Police Department officers responded to initial reports that a man lying in the VFW parking lot on First Street West had been struck as Parish backed up in his pickup truck at about 10 p.m.

After an investigation, Kalispell Police Chief Roger Nasset said the man — described as a transient — had an injured hand, but that a doctor at Kalispell Regional Medical Center determined it was not consistent with an automobile-inflicted injury.

Nasset said in September that the investigation revealed the man was intoxicated and likely sleeping behind Parish’s truck. Nasset said witnesses heard the man scream, but it was because the man thought he was going to be run over, not because he had been.

Municipal Judge Heidi Ulbricht will preside over the Jan. 28 sentencing, which will double as a restitution hearing for the man who came forward, according to the City Attorney’s office.

Parish works in the patrol division at the Sheriff’s Office. 

Sheriff Mike Meehan said Friday that Parish has been disciplined, but said it is against his policy to discuss internal disciplinary matters.

The DUI charge is Parish’s first, according to court records.

There is no minimum prison sentence for a first-time offense, but under state sentencing guidelines a fine of between $300 and $1,000 can be imposed and an offender must attend an alcohol treatment program.

Reporter Eric Schwartz may be reached at 758-4441 or by e-mail at eschwartz@dailyinterlake.com.