Judge wants state court to consider Ronan police case

A federal judge has recommended that parts of a federal lawsuit filed last year against the Ronan Police Department and other city of Ronan officials be dismissed and hashed out in state court.

Claims of whether or not law enforcement officers were properly certified to make arrests should be considered by Lake County District Court because it raises a question of Montana law, Judge Jeremiah Lynch said in a Sept. 1 ruling.

“What the judge said was that ‘Ronan may or may not have violated these state laws, but I am not going to make that decision,’” attorney Tim Bechtold said.

Bechtold is representing Anthony Chaney, a man who was arrested by off-duty and reserve Ronan police officers on July 14, 2013, after he restrained his brother, Donald Chaney, who was suffering from a post-traumatic stress disorder episode. Anthony Chaney was never charged with a crime for the incident, though Donald Chaney was booked into Flathead Tribal Jail.

In the lawsuit filed in June 2014 in U.S. District Court, Anthony Chaney claimed he was cuffed by Trevor Wadsworth, son of longtime Police Chief Dan Wadsworth, despite the fact that Trevor was allegedly not properly certified as required by state law. The lawsuit also alleged that reserve officers who assisted in the arrest were not properly certified.

Anthony Chaney filed suit against the city of Ronan, Mayor Kim Aipperspach, former Police Chief Dan Wadsworth, the Ronan Police Department and officers who made the arrest.

Bechtold said a lawsuit will be filed in Lake County District Court as soon as paperwork is finalized through the federal court.

“Everything that can be brought in the federal court can be brought in the state court,” Bechtold said.

He said his client also will seek certification so the lawsuit can be considered a class-action lawsuit. Lynch denied class certification in the federal lawsuit, concluding people with claims similar to Chaney’s claim likely would raise questions of state, and not federal law.

Bechtold said approximately two dozen people have contacted his office with interest in being part of the class-action lawsuit. The original lawsuit was filed in federal court to avoid the clogged state court docket to reach a speedier conclusion.

“The idea of getting a faster ruling did not happen,” Bechtold said. “The strategy backfired. We’ll get to the bottom of it eventually. The whole issue is whether or not Ronan was complying with state statutes. Ronan thought it was, and a lot of people in the community thought it wasn’t. What we don’t have is a ruling on those state rules and statutes.”

Ronan City Attorney Kathleen O’Rourke Mullins said she was pleased with the judge’s recommendations.

“The court didn’t find anything wrong or distinguishing with the reserve program and dismissed it,” O’Rourke Mullins said.

But attorney Bill Crowley was not as optimistic that questions about the city of Ronan’s former police reserve program had been resolved. Crowley is specialized counsel for the city of Ronan and Mayor Kim Aipperspach.

“I don’t think the judge made a decision one way or the other on whether the reserve officer program satisfied state law or not,” Crowley said.

He said the judge’s recommendation to separate the case into two courts likely means handling of federal concerns still pending before the federal court will move at a faster pace.

Still pending in federal court are questions about whether or not Chaney was illegally arrested and subject to excessive force by officers.

Reporter Megan Strickland may be reached at 758-4459 or by email at mstrickland@dailyinterlake.com.