EBS STAFF
On Tuesday, Jan. 27, Gallatin County Sheriff Dan Springer shared a letter with media outlets titled “Above the Noise,” aiming to “speak directly” to citizens in a format not typical of the Sheriff’s office and other Gallatin County officials.
Springer, who has held office since January 2021, wrote the following:
“We are witnessing a dangerous trend in public activity. Yesterday, a Sheriff’s Office Captain pulled over a vehicle in his issued, unmarked, police vehicle. He wore his issued Sheriff’s Office vest with clear and unobstructed markings that said SHERIFF. He pulled the driver over for reckless driving and the contact went without incident. However, shortly thereafter, there were social media posts stating ICE had pulled someone over while describing this Captain’s vehicle and time of traffic stop. This is not the first time we have seen reports that are false and misleading.”
The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, was not mentioned again in the letter after Springer’s initial reference.
Springer wrote that such reports are “an attempt to create fear and chaos within our community” and are false. Local law enforcement officers are dedicated to preserving the quality of life, he wrote, and there will be criminal consequences for any “agitators or obstructionists” who interfere with lawful operations.
“Vigilantism is not an acceptable form of intervention and won’t be tolerated in this community,” Springer wrote.
He stated he has “no doubt” that citizens’ attention will be directed by “the media and social media” to the Missouri River Drug Task Force.
The Missouri River Drug Task Force is a Helena-based, multi-agency law enforcement collaboration involving federal, state and local partners that operates in seven counties in Montana. According to the task force’s mission statement, MRDTF targets and addresses criminal drug activity using “sophisticated long-term investigative approaches, including undercover surveillance operations, the purchase of evidence and information, and electronic surveillance to disrupt and dismantle targeted drug organizations.”
In recent news, Helena Police Chef Brett Petty announced the Helena Police Department’s departure from MRDTF—HPD is a department in one of seven local Montana counties in the consortium, including Gallatin—after it forged a deal with border patrol agents in November 2025. In an interview with Montana Free Press, Petty cited “some concerns” with border patrol presence and noted that the drug task force intends to deploy two agents in Helena and two agents in Bozeman.
Springer continued in this letter that the department would protect the community “from this scourge of the population.”
“If we have cartel members, gang members, local residents, legal residents, illegal residents or anyone else selling, stealing property, and/or committing acts of violence, we will use the resources available to arrest them and remove them from our neighborhoods,” he wrote.“This should not be controversial and to believe otherwise is irrational and damaging to our community.”
The letter concludes with a promise that GCSO deputies are committed to professionalism and that local, state and federal partners are expected to conduct themselves the same way when operating in the Gallatin County community.
“This is why we engage in agreements to define the framework of their actions while they are working here,” Springer wrote. “Partnering in this way ensures an avenue of communication with their supervisors and agency heads if their behaviors aren’t aligned with our expectations. All my deputies are aware of my expectation they will ‘Engage non-standard actions immediately.’ This means we will step in and engage if we see anyone acting in a manner not appropriate to the profession. Your Sheriff’s Office and I, as your Sheriff will continue to do the Right thing, at the Right time for the Right reasons.”
