Keeping Our Community Safe: Perspectives on Policing in the Gallatin Valley

MSU Wonderlust, now the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at MSU, in partnership with the Bozeman Public Library Foundation, will host a panel discussion on “Keeping Our Community Safe: Perspectives on Policing in the Gallatin Valley” at an Oct. 9 Friday Forum. The event will be presented online via Webex from 12:00 to 1:30 p.m. and is free and open to the public.

A panel of local law enforcement officials and civil liberties advocates will address the increasing demand for a re-examination of the role of police in our society. National events have raised concerns about the militarization of police and police behavior, including racial profiling and the excessive use of force. The panel will also discuss the appropriate community response to a range of issues such as civil protest, homelessness, domestic violence, mental health crisis and substance misuse. There will be an opportunity for Q&A following the discussion.

Panelists include Brian Gootkin, Gallatin County Sheriff; Jim Veltkamp, Interim Police Chief, Bozeman Police Department; Judith Heilman, executive director, Montana Racial Equity Project; and SK Rossi, advocacy and policy director, American Civil Liberties Union of Montana. The discussion will be moderated by Cody Warner, associate professor of sociology, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Montana State University.

Advance registration is required. For more information or to register, please visit the OLLI at MSU website at montana.edu/wonderlust/register. Upon registration confirmation, participants will receive an email with the Webex link and instructions to join the program.

Friday Forums are a partnership between OLLI at MSU (formerly MSU Wonderlust), and the Bozeman Public Library Foundation. OLLI at MSU is a program of Academic Technology and Outreach (ATO) at Montana State University. ATO works across MSU to support and advance our land-grant mission through unique and innovative opportunities for outreach and engagement.