Copy This Embed Code:

Ad

HARDIN — On July 15, a massive dust storm swept across I-90 near Hardin, causing blackout conditions and a 21-vehicle pile-up, which killed six people, including two children.

As emergency responders from multiple agencies responded, Hardin's police department never received a call.

"We didn't know anything about it," Hardin Police Chief Donald Babbin said Tuesday. "We were here and available to assist."

Babbin says it was a standout incident in a period of silence from Big Horn County dispatch, which had stopped connecting calls for service to the Hardin Police Department in April 2022.

"The county attorney decided to disrupt the dispatching service through the sheriff's office with us," Babbin said. "They discontinued dispatching the City of Hardin Police Department."

This came shortly after the Bighorn County Special Deputy Attorney David Sibley filed charges against Babbin and a Hardin police officer related to an incident on March 6, 2022, at the Town Pump. Officer Calen Curtin allegedly punched a man in the back of the head twice while trying to take the man into custody. Babbin was facing charges of intimidation against the man when he subsequently tried to file a complaint.

Ultimately, charges against Babbin and Curtin were dropped—and with them went the calls for services from Big Horn County dispatch.

"There was a few weeks that we didn't have any calls for service at all," Babbin said.

The Hardin Police Department is a relatively new...

Read Full Story: https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMidGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3Lmt0dnEuY29tL...