"That was him," called out Corporal Charles Pesola. "Hold on," which I did as he took a fast U-turn on a thin dirt road, and we headed the other way, following the cloud of dust. "He had a good head start on us," Charles commented. When the road ended, he had two directions to take. He started to head east when two people came rushing up their driveway. "The other way!" they shouted, waving their arms. Schools were letting out, so we drove quickly but safely to the west. By the time we circled back to the main road, there was no sign of our offender.
Corporal Charles Pesola is with Flathead County’s Sheriff’s Department and is a veteran of seven years. Although he wears a few hats like leading the Sheriff's Posse, managing the K9 Unit, and speaking at schools, his primary focus is searching for and arresting drug dealers. Misty, his seven-year-old German short-hair Pointer, has assisted in finding tens of thousands of doses of dangerous drugs like meth, heroin, and fentanyl.
As the Public Information Officer, I get to ride along with the Sheriff’s Department. The day started with a tour of the Flathead Detention Center. I've visited other jailes during my career, but this was my first tour here. Whatever the people of the county decide – remodel this center or build a new one -- it's obvious that what we have now is not optimal.
Charles and I walked past the cells and looked at the roster posted outside each. Drugs with intent to sell, burglary, robbery, homicides, assaults, and stalking. Charles would point to their name, state the charge, then add “and drugs.” As we walked past some of the cells, a few inmates would wave kindly at Charles, even stopping him for a chat: "How's it going?" they would ask. "Ah, you know. How are you?” they’d answer. Like friends passing on the street.
"You know quite a few of them," I commented. "Well, I’ve arrested them more than once,” he sighed. “Repeat offenders. They can't get clean, make bad decisions, and end up here repeatedly." Charles speaks kindly and with respect to all of them. "They deserve to be treated with dignity," he said genuinely.
The next half of the day, we searched a suspicious abandoned car in the middle of a field, stopped someone for driving a bit too fast around a curve, and circled several houses many times watching for activity. "I count the cars, note the make, model, and color. When we drive back again, we’ll see if there are changes to what is parked out front." Then when we would pass the same house again later, we'd talk about what was different and what I saw. "I spend most of my day observing,” he explained.
The mission was to find a known drug dealer. "We know where he hangs out, that he switches cars, and we need him off the street," Charles explained. "Now that we’ve seen him once, he knows we're looking for him, and that will make it harder to pin down."
As we drove past another location we had already trolled by earlier, we were stopped by a couple in a truck. "We just saw someone driving suspiciously. We think he saw you coming." A quick thanks, and we were back on the trail until we came to a t-stop. "Left would keep him on the backroads, which he knows. Right, would take him out to the highway, which is too busy." Back down the dirt roads again we traveled that wind through the valley. Another close call.
By now, it was around 7 p.m. Charles made a few calls, rallied a few of the night shift sheriff’s crew, and learned exactly where our known offender was hiding. We were happy we had him pinned in, but he was hiding in an area where escaping through the woods, hiding in the back of a car, or barricading himself for a few days were all potential scenarios. No solid choice.
As the sun was setting, dispatch was calling in life-threatening situations. Snatching our drug dealer would have to wait for another day.
During our time together, I asked Charles a lot of questions, all of which were answered truthfully and thoughtfully. One was, ‘If you wanted the people of Flathead to know just one thing about your job, what would it be?’ It didn't take him long to answer.
"I'd like them to know that what they see is rarely what is really happening. We could be pulling off the road and watching something happening far off. We might meet in a parking lot to discuss a plan because we know some of our repeat offenders have police radios. I spend most of the day thinking, planning, and preparing. I’m not napping or eating donuts." I can vouch for that! We never stopped during our 13-hour ride until I mentioned needing a bio break.
"It doesn't help when people post our movements on social media either. We know the intent is to be informative, but they could be giving away our location and eliminating our ability to safely surprise someone so no one gets hurt. It’s often wrong information and does more harm than good." I thought about what happened just yesterday when someone came into the Justice Center wielding a knife, and how many comments were wrong, even mean.
I've seen officers sitting in a parking lot or hiding behind a tree; I never knew what they were doing but knew enough to stay out of their way. Let’s help them out:
1) Move over when they have their sirens on, or if you see them moving quickly behind you. They might not want the person they’re chasing to know what’s going on.
2) Don’t post current activities or locations of patrol officers. Everyone has social media, and you might be tipping off a police stakeout.
3) Thank them. They are watching out for you. A simple “thank you” can put a smile on anyone's face.
4) Respect their authority – even if you don’t agree with them. They have a job to do, and they are doing it for our safety.
- Image from Film Saints Productions
- Story by Public Information Officer Kim Grieser