Powder River County Sheriff: Two Years In Review

By Powder River County Sheriff Devin J Boman

It has been a ride. I am now at the halfway point in my first term as Sheriff of Powder River County. We have taken some bold steps and have made tremendous strides over the past couple of years, and I am honored to have had the privilege to lead the way. Highway 212 continues to haunt all our lives, but we are making headway. In 2023, the Powder River County Sheriff's Office wrote more citations than any previous year since 2013, and this year we have already passed that number and are on track to set the record high in the office for the number of citations in one year. Our projection for 2025 has us beating that number. We have also made it a priority for my office to get out and follow the school buses as much as possible to ensure the safety of our kids.

I have worked closely with county commissioners and other stakeholders to see that our office is updated to serve the community as efficiently as possible. We have progressed in officer safety in a number of ways. We have purchased and installed computers in all the vehicles so that we can write out citations even faster. It is also safer for the officer on duty who will be able to monitor their surroundings while simultaneously writing citations. We have also installed vehicle cameras. This will both aid in our investigations, and limit the county's liability.

Another big change is that we have purchased a new state-of-the-art, all-in-one, records management, jail management, evidence management, and computer-aided dispatch system. This is probably the most important thing I have undertaken that will make the biggest impact on the Sheriff's office for the present and future. Please feel free to stop me on the streets to inquire more if you are curious (I don't think Billy has a big enough paper for that).

The deputy's office/booking room/ supply closet has been cleaned up, and we are working to make it into a true booking and interview room. No longer will a deputy walk in to book an inmate with scissors, or other dangerous objects lying around. We owe it to our officers to give them a safe place to do dangerous work.

We are about to start the process of cleaning out the evidence vault and consolidating old records into digital formats. We have cleaned up the Sheriff's Office inventory, and have made a very big impact on getting rid of a lot of old equipment, while simultaneously preserving historical items.

I have worked endlessly on improving working relationships with members of the surrounding counties, and other counterparts in the state. As we all know, good neighbors can make a world of difference. We now have a Memorandum-of-Understanding with Carter County Sheriff Neil Kittelmann's office that will aid us in working together across county lines. Further, Rosebud County Sheriff Allen Fulton, Custer County Sheriff Brandon Kelm, and Big Horn County Sheriff Jeramie Middlestead have all been true friends to me in supporting county efforts. I am on the board for the Eastern Montana Drug Task Force and the regional collaboration with other law enforcement professionals has been beneficial in bringing positive change to Powder River County on the issue of drugs.

More importantly I have strived to build and foster good working relationships with those within our county. The Sheriff's office is not an island, and we need the entire county team to effectuate positive change. I have worked alongside the Broadus Fire Department in setting up the much-needed, new Dutch Gulch Repeater, and I enjoy a good working relationship with the Broadus Mayor and Town council as well as our County Commissioners. I am very grateful for their continued support of the Sheriff's office.

I also want our agricultural community to know they can call the Sheriff's Office when they are in need. As such, I have made it a priority to help ranchers safely cross the highway with their cows, have put cows back in and fixed a little fence when they get out on the highways, and last year I became a Brand Inspector - to help when your regular guy is taking a siesta.

All in all, in the past two years, my office has: investigated theft cases, overseen drug busts, and even investigated a theft case which turned into a major drug bust. We have subdued fights in the back of ambulances, broken up bar fights, managed multiple school bomb threats, responded to crashes and roll-overs, conducted manhunt and search-and-rescues. I, personally, have shouldered death notifications of dear friends, wrangled horses in town, engaged in foot pursuit and take-down, shot a bear and caught a bald eagle. I have laughed, cried, and fought with friends in this community, and have even enjoyed a little bit of good ol' fashioned rancher justice from time to time.

Lastly, I want to extend a special thank you to my team. I am proud to lead such a group of hardworking, professional, and dedicated deputies and dispatchers who are so devoted to serving our county, and who work so tirelessly to ensure that community members are safe.

More goes on here than a feller would like to admit, but I will still say I would rather live here than any other place. I am honored that I have this chance to help protect and serve my friends and family in this community. So, here's to the next two years. May they be as productive and meaningful as the last two. God Bless.