Montana Cops Caught On Duty Playing ‘Crime Bingo’ With Traffic Stops

BOZEMAN, Montana — When someone is pulled over by law enforcement or engaged somehow by officers, the experience often comes with a surge of adrenaline, even fear, as worry about criminal charges or a mention in the newspaper sets in. 

Now there’s a new concern: Am I being targeted in some sort of inside game the officers are playing?

That’s what happened in Bozeman, where “Crime Bingo” had officers trying to mark off spots on their cards with things like “ARREST 3 PEOPLE OUT OF ONE CAR,” “TEAM MEMBER HIT ON BY ARRESTEE” and simply “BUTT-ASS NAKED,” which was left open to interpretation by players of what officers and officials also called “MIDSHIFT BINGO.”

This crime bingo game was going on back in mid-January when 13 officers, including two sergeants, marked off squares apparently generated by one of several online services catering to the current customized bingo craze, according to the Bozeman Police Department.

The secret game came to light Thursday, when Bozeman Police Chief Jim Veltkamp held a press conference to reveal details about the game. In his statement to the press, Veltkamp insisted the rights of those stopped by BPD were not violated as part of the game. 

Veltkamp said officers, “Were engaged in a bingo competition where success in the game hinged on whether they engaged in actions listed on the bingo card.”

“It did look like your standard bingo card,” added Veltkamp. “They filled in squares of things they wanted to see happen or have happened in order to check off that box in the bingo card.”

Other categories included “FOOT PURSUIT FOR ARRESTABLE OFFENSE” and “APPLY TQ OR CHEST SEAL,” referring to the use of a tourniquet or sealing wounds to a person’s torso to stop blood loss. 

“One of those was to do a search warrant on a car,” said Veltkamp. “Which in and of itself, that is part of their duties. The concern is if they manipulated anything in order to be able to search a car.”

It took two and half months for the BPD, the Bozeman City Attorney's Office and the Gallatin County Attorney's Office to release information about the game. 

At the press conference held at the Bozeman Public Safety Center, Veltkamp said the game went on for 12 days until someone alerted command staff, who shut down the game. BPD offered no details about whether money was involved, who specifically originated the game or how individual officers were disciplined. 

Also still unknown is whether anyone on the police force got to call out, “bingo!”

Legal Fallout

The Gallatin County Attorney’s Office, the Bozeman City Attorney’s Office and the BPD each reportedly conducted internal investigations. Also, an unidentified external attorney was contracted to review 24 cases that took place during the bingo time period. 

On Monday, the BPD’s online call log dashboard reported 3,642 calls during the last 30 days. Using that measure for the typical number of calls received by BPD in 30 days, then during the 12-day period when the crime bingo game was played, the game could have involved 1,457 calls. Not all calls result in contact with law enforcement, but many do. 

Messages left Monday by Cowboy State Daily with BPD staff were not returned. 

Veltkamp said all investigations into the 24 selected cases, “concluded the same, that zero of the cases had been affected by the game.”

“The officers involved, who had these bingo cards handed to them, we had a lot of long conversations about this and they were warned how inappropriate it is,” said Veltkamp. “The supervisors who participated and had any knowledge of it, they were disciplined beyond that.

“But again, I can’t talk about exactly what it was, because it’s a personnel issue.” 

Judicial Review

A spokesperson for the Gallatin County Attorney’s Office told Cowboy State Daily on Monday that the copy of the crime bingo card provided to the press was authentic. 

On April 18, following the press conference held by BPD, the Gallatin County Attorney’s office issued a press release, which it posted on social media. 

The release stated, “Eleven felony cases referred to the County Attorney’s office for prosecution involved defendants arrested during the bingo game.”

The county attorney’s statement went on to reference two precedent-setting court cases that direct prosecutors to disclose to the defense, “in a timely manner, any evidence that is favorable to the accused and material to guilt or punishment.

“This can include information that might call into question the credibility of a witness — including a law enforcement officer — such as bias, prior misconduct, dishonesty, or excessive use of force,” the statement says. “If the credibility issues are significant enough, it can affect a prosecutor’s ability to rely on that officer’s testimony in court or to move forward with a case.”

When she was made aware of the incident, Gallatin County Attorney Audrey Cromwell said she worked in conjunction with the Bozeman City Attorney’s Office to hire the “independent investigative prosecutor to review the Bozeman Police Department’s internal investigation and recommend a course of action.” 

Following the completion of this report April 16, the county attorney’s office filed motions with the local District Court asking it to conduct a judicial review to determine what information should be disclosed to defense counsel in relevant cases. 

“Cases brought by the Gallatin County Attorney’s office must be effective and constitutionally sound,” said Cromwell. “My office will continue to uphold the law and rights of all involved — the victims, the accused, and the community — to safeguard public safety, and ensure justice.”

Role Of The Bozeman Police Commission? 

Rick Gale, a member of the Bozeman Police Commission, said it’s not the role of the commission to step in and investigate incidents like 13 officers playing crime bingo while on duty. 

“A lot of questions are being asked about the crime bingo and we’ll see where it goes from there, as far as how it’s handled, as far as training and make sure officers are real clear about how to present themselves and what’s appropriate,” said Gale. “Our guidelines are pretty clear.”

The commission is also involved in the hiring process, said Gale.

The police chief presents applicants to the commission, and said Gale, “If we agree with the chief’s recommendations, they are forwarded to HR and sworn in.

“The process, the vetting is very thorough, and we’re swearing in six new officers tomorrow at 4 o’clock.”

Sheriff Kozak Responds

It wasn’t news to Laramie County Sheriff Brian Kozak that a law enforcement agency would be engaged in an on-the-job game of humorous bingo. 

“These cards have been in law enforcement for a long time,” Kozak told Cowboy State Daily. “Thirty years ago I saw cards like this. Dispatch centers have cards like this. A lot of different career fields.”

Dark humor on the jobsite is a stress reliever and good for morale and the mental health of officers working in high-stress situations, said Kozak.

But the Bozeman game of crime bingo crossed a line between good fun and a legal problem when it introduced the potential for officers to manipulate situations to score marks on their bingo cards. 

“For example, one of the things on the bingo card says, ‘Arrest three people out of one car,’” said Kozak. “I guess the problem with that is, let's say you've arrested two and you have a third person there that maybe normally you wouldn't arrest, but now you're going to push it so you can check off the bingo card.”

As for the box marked “BUTT-ASS NAKED,” that could inspire a situation where officers would normally cover up a naked person, but instead leave them exposed for the sake of the game. That’s not cool, said Kozak. 

When emergency dispatch centers play incident call bingo, it’s a controlled situation where the call is what it is. But in live law enforcement situations, where the issue at hand aren’t black and white, “That's where it becomes improper,” he said.

“We used to recognize officers for the number of DUI arrests that they made,” said Kozak. “We still may recognize that, but we changed it to investigations. So we look for the number of investigations someone does. So, if you end up releasing someone, but you do an investigation, and you decide not to charge them. It still counts as an investigation.”

Kozak’s office still has fun with its Clinko Resort game, which is based on “The Price Is Right” television show contest Plinko. 

Using a game board, one of four wanted people “wins” an all-expense-paid trip to the Laramie County Detention Center. 

“That's a very black-and-white issue. They have a warrant and there's no question about it,” said Kozak. “We want the public's help in locating a witness and giving us tips. And that's a way to get people talking about where normally maybe they would not have. So that’s the unique twist, the kind of funny twist to it.”

David Madison can be reached at david@cowboystatedaily.com.