A Montana Police Chief Facing Illegal Hunting, Witness Tampering Charges

If for no other reasons, you expect law enforcement personnel to hold themselves to higher standards, and to know the laws.

All of that appears to be in murky water right now, as a Montana police chief is about to go to trial, facing what could be felony charges. And Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks shows no records of any hunting licenses obtained during the time period in question. An honest mistake made due to where the hunting took place? It does not sound that way.

Court documents were released that allege Glendive Chief of Police Jeremy Swisher illegally harvested three mule deer on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, and subsequent charges of unlawful possession, shipping or transportation of game animals, and two counts of tampering with witnesses. The case dates back to late December of 2021, before Mr. Swisher was actually Glendive's chief of police, a position he accepted 18 months ago. The mule deer mounts in question were on display in Chief Swisher's office when authorities made a visit in the early stages of the investigation.

TRANSPORT, TAMPERING, WOULD-BE PERMISSION

Mr. Swisher is accused of illegally transporting the mule deer bucks to his home in Louisiana, then having them transported back to Montana.

He claimed that he had written permission to hunt on Fort Peck Indian Reservation land and was accompanied by a tribal member. Montana FWP clarifies that Montana law does not allow non-tribal members to hunt deer, either alone or accompanied by a member of the tribe. Mr. Swisher acknowledged that he knew it was illegal for him to hunt on the reservation, but thought it was okay with their permission.

Court documents also suggest he attempted to convince tribal members to cover for him, asking them to make false claims about how the mule deer antlers were acquired, among other things.

A court appearance has been set in Montana Seventh Judicial District Court, Glendive, for July 9.