BOZEMAN — A story you may recall - some Bozeman Police officers were caught playing a game of bingo on the clock. Now, some of the criminal cases that were handled by the officers involved in the game are being dismissed.
According to Bozeman Police Chief Jim Veltkamp, in mid-January, 13 officers, including two sergeants, took part in an on-duty game of bingo. Veltkamp explained, "It did look like your standard bingo card. Then they filled in squares on the card with things that they wanted to see happen, or have happen - In order to check off that box on the bingo card."
Veltkamp stated that this game went on for 12 days before being shut down. During that time, officers involved with the game sent 24 misdemeanor cases to city court and 11 felony cases to the county attorney's office.
After reviewing the cases, Gallatin County Attorney Audrey Cromwell has decided to dismiss four of the pending felony charges and decline to prosecute five others. Cromwell stated, "I made the determination that to best protect the constitutional and due process rights of the defendants, and to ensure fairness of their trials, the cases should be dismissed."
Cromwell explained that once a case is dismissed by the court, all hearings are vacated, bond is exonerated, and the case is closed. She acknowledged that this decision was "a tough call."
The dismissed felony cases included drug-related offenses and one Partner/Family Member Assault charge. Cromwell said she is still reviewing the remaining five felony cases to determine whether to file charges.
Bozeman Police Chief Jim Veltkamp was unable to provide a reaction to the case dismissals when reached for comment.
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