Sheriff's candidate takes aim at morale

Lance Norman, one of two candidates challenging incumbent Mike Meehan in the all-Republican sheriff's race this year, says he's running because morale in the sheriff's office is "at its lowest level in years — and the primary reason is "a lack of quality leadership at the top levels."

"We need someone who is progressive and can deal with all the changes," he told the Pilot. "We need leadership, integrity and morale brought back up so citizens can get what they're paying for."

Born and raised in Whitefish, Norman is a third-generation peace officer — his father was a Whitefish policeman and his grandfather was a special deputy in Phillips County.

Norman graduated from Whitefish High School in 1987 and from North Idaho College in 1990. While in Idaho, he worked for the Kootenai County Sheriff's Office, operating patrol boats on Lake Coeur d'Alene. He landed a job with the Columbia Falls Police Department after graduating with an associate's degree in criminology.

Two years later, Norman began his career with the Flathead County Sheriff's Office as a deputy sheriff. He spent two years as a detective investigating sex crimes and worked as a coroner, field-training officer and firearms instructor. He was also a member of the SWAT team, the marine division and the snowmobile team.

Norman was promoted to patrol sergeant in 2005. He was awarded a Meritorious Service Medal for saving a choking baby in Evergreen and a Lifesaving Medal for saving the life of a 15-year-old girl in Kalispell who had been drinking by performing CPR.

He is a single parent with a daughter and has been involved in Special Olympics, Girl Scouts, parks and recreation, Paralyzed Veterans of America and church. He has also served as president and secretary-treasurer of the Flathead County Deputy Sheriff's Association.

Norman said the sheriff's office is "top heavy" and the number of leaders could be cut back from seven to five. Department heads in the office, including the detention commander, are driving brand new SUVs while deputies are cruising in older patrol cars with more than 100,000 miles on them, he said.

He also said Meehan has spent most of his career in administration, while former undersheriff and challenger Chuck Curry "left because he was burned out" and likewise spent most of his career in administration.

"What it will take is someone from the front lines with a fresh approach," he said. "An outsider can't do that — they don't know what the community needs."

Many of Norman's suggested changes are aimed at community interaction and education. He'd like to see sheriff personnel take a more proactive stance by increasing their visibility in problem areas, both by stepping up traffic patrols and increasing contacts, like beat cops in big cities.

"In Hungry Horse, for example, kids are walking around at all hours of the night," he said. "We need to call up their parents and have them picked up."

In addition to improving in-person response to citizens' questions over the phone, Norman wants to set up a Citizens Advisory Board where the public can present comments or complaints directly to the sheriff's office. People in law enforcement sometimes lose the citizens' perspective.

"It'd be great if we could have a cop on every corner, but we can't do that," he said.

Norman said the solution to the medical marijuana issue requires a simple fix by the Montana Legislature. He agrees that THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, has beneficial medicinal properties, but it should be distributed in a pill form and only by licensed pharmacies.

"Every day, I see people using the state's medical marijuana law to illegally get high," he said.

He recalled responding to a home where a card-carrying father had been smoking marijuana for legitimate medical reasons, but his two young children were visibly intoxicated by second-hand smoke.

Norman would also like to step up the county's search-and-rescue organization. He said the sheriff office's two boats never went out on regular patrol last year — including Fourth of July. He also wants the search-and-rescue coordinator to be a full-time position staffed with "good, qualified people."

Norman also has a few budget-cutting suggestions, including using more fuel-efficient vehicles, equipping patrol cars with brush guards to limit damage from frequent deer impacts, and requiring that jail inmates prepare their own food, eat bologna sandwiches and pay for their detention. Home arrest is a good option so the county won't be responsible for inmates' medical costs, he said.