Former Kalispell police chief seeks more monitoring of domestic abusers

A Kalispell lawmaker is pushing a bill that could expand the use of electronic monitoring of people charged with certain domestic violence and stalking crimes — a small but significant step, advocates say, toward protecting victims from further abuse and even death.

House Bill 449, sponsored by Republican Rep. Frank Garner, a former Kalispell police chief, received a hearing in the Montana Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday after passing the House on a 99-0 vote earlier this month.

Garner told the committee the legislation could help prevent domestic violence from turning deadly, as happened last summer in a spate of horrific killings near Olney.

Without naming those involved, Garner described how 42-year-old Emily Mohler had lived in fear of her estranged husband, Kameron Barge, filing for three protection orders and reporting at least one instance in which he strangled her but was never charged.

On June 30 last year, in the midst of their divorce, Barge entered Mohler's home and stabbed her to death, along with their 3-year-old daughter and Mohler's 41-year-old friend. Barge, 39, killed himself soon afterward.

"There were a number of system failures in that event that have brought about systematic changes in our local criminal justice system" Garner told the committee. "But one of the issues that was identified was the need, in similar cases, to use available technology to provide for victim safety."

HB 449 would, in many cases, increase the likelihood that a domestic violence suspect is monitored using a GPS bracelet while out of jail and awaiting trial.

The bill would add to state law a "rebuttable presumption" that electronic monitoring should be included as a condition of pretrial release in jurisdictions where the technology is available, which include Flathead County. In other words, a judge would require monitoring by default unless the defense successfully argues against it.

"This keeps judges in ultimate control of that decision but places a burden on the offender of having to explain why they shouldn't be released on monitoring," Garner said.

The presumption would apply only for certain felony charges deemed the strongest predictors of future abuse or homicidal behavior, including assault or strangulation of a partner or family member, stalking and violations of protection orders.

"We know the victims are much more likely to suffer serious injury or death at the hands of an abuser that has committed one of these felony crimes," Garner said. "Those that have been victims of attempted strangulation from their abuser, for instance, are 750% more likely to be killed in the future."

GARNER SAID electronic monitoring enables law enforcement to track suspects' locations and respond if they travel out of bounds under protection orders. And it can alert victims if their abusers get too close to their homes or workplaces.

Kelsen Young, executive director of the Montana Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, said that kind of forewarning can save lives in extreme cases of domestic abuse.

"This bill and the sponsor have done an incredible job of homing in on a very particular level of offender," Young told the committee. "Many jurisdictions all over the country use GPS monitoring as a way to take that extra step to monitor and track those most lethal offenders that, for whatever reason, are out of jail."

Representatives of the Montana Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association, the Montana County Attorneys Association and the Montana Police Protective Association also spoke in support of the bill during Thursday's hearing.

While no one testified in opposition, some acknowledged concerns about requiring people to pay for their own monitoring while they are awaiting trial and legally presumed innocent.

Garner's original bill assumed electronic monitoring is available everywhere in the state, but it was amended in the House to apply only where the technology is already available. The current version also shifts the financial burden from the government onto the suspect being monitored, unless a judge determines the suspect is too poor to afford it.

"Generally that's a heartburn area for us," Young said. "But … the reality is these are the extreme offenders, and it's worth it for us, in this particular context, for that to be covered by the offender. And most importantly, it's what we need to ensure more chance for victim safety."

Reporter Chad Sokol can be reached at 758-4434 or csokol@dailyinterlake.com