Hot Springs gets second police officer

Protecting Hot Springs from crime is no longer a one-man show.

At the Hot Springs Town Council meeting last Tuesday, Jim Matthews was officially made the Hot Springs Police Department's second full-time officer. Matthews joins Hot Springs Police Chief Tim Coleman as the department's only full-time officers.

“This is a giant step to actually having full-time coverage here,” said Coleman. “It is much needed and much appreciated,” he added.

Last fall, voters in Hot Springs passed a levy to add a full-time officer by a 66-60 vote. The money from the levy isn't available until July, which is the start of the fiscal year, but Coleman said that when the levy passed, he asked the council to hire the full-time officer once they had money in the budget. Hot Springs Mayor Renea Keough said the town had expected the levy to pass and had budgeted for the full-time officer.

Keough said that the town needed the full-time officer because Coleman was on call everyday. “It's just not right,” she said.

Coleman said that a second officer on the force was badly needed. “My job definition is 24-seven, 365,” he said. Coleman said this made it impossible to have a life. He said he would work 12 to 16 hours a day and considered himself lucky if no 911 calls came in, so he could get six hours of sleep. Coleman still recalls the nights when he would go home and crash in his sofa, with his body armor still on, just praying the phone wouldn't ring so he could get an half an hour nap.

Coleman said that this kind of lifestyle can only lead to burn-out and thinks this is why Hot Springs has had so many police chiefs since they went to a one-man force. Hot Springs previously had two officers - a police chief and one officer - but the officer's salary was mostly paid for through a three-year grant, which ended more than two years ago. Coleman, who was hired in September 2006, became the fourth police chief for Hot Springs since the town went to a one-man force.

While Matthews officially became a full-time officer last week, he had been serving as a full-time officer since Coleman went to the Montana Law Enforcement Academy in Helena last fall. Matthews has been a reserve officer for the Sanders County Sheriff's Office since December 2005.

Matthews said that having only one officer on a police force is not a good situation for the police officer or the community. “You can't run a police office with one officer,” he said. “It's bad news to only have one officer. At a minimum you need two.” He said that only one officer means no backup for the chief on some calls, so having another officer is added security. He said before having a second officer, Coleman would have to rely on the Tribal or county law enforcement for backup. He said the Tribal police could be 45 minutes away and the county deputies could be 60 to 80 minutes away.

Coleman said Matthews plans to continue his service as a reserve officer for the county, which he described as a “win-win” situation for the county and Hot Springs. He said that if a call came in from Lonepine, Matthews would be authorized to handle it, which would cut down on the county's response time and save the county money.

Hot Springs also recently added reserve officer Todd Schauls. Coleman said that Schauls is a fully qualified officer. He said Schauls served for four years in the military police and one year as a police officer in Lake County.

Coleman said with what amounts to two and a half officers, the Hot Springs Police Department will be able to offer better service and more patrol coverage to the community. He said the recently added police officers are a step in the right direction, but there is still room for improvement. “We're still hurting, but it's a 100 percent better than what it was,” he said.