Residents tell council they saw intimidation, police concerns and unsafe Friday-night behavior on Main Street

Two members of the public told the Kalispell City Council on June 16 they had observed or been affected by aggressive behavior at recent public events and on a recent Friday night in downtown Kalispell, and they urged the council and staff to address enforcement and public-safety practices.

Joan Ehrenberg, who said she lives in Whitefish and has lived in Montana 34 years, described witnessing a protest and subsequent arrests in which she said an elderly man “was not treated well,” was “in pain” and was “jostled around.” She said some officers behaved in ways she found concerning and urged the council to consider de-escalation training for the Kalispell Police Department. Ehrenberg said she had volunteered near the Kalispell police station in the past and that the conduct she observed during the event “was not Montana” and “not who we are.”

Ryan Ellis, a resident who said he used to live in Kalispell, described a separately observed Friday-night downtown environment he called “not inviting” because of repeated engine revving, black smoke from trucks, horn use and behavior that intimidated families and pedestrians. Ellis said he and others felt unsafe and that the atmosphere made him unlikely to return on a Friday night. He urged council to revisit the Main Street improvement project and called for measures that would make downtown more pedestrian friendly and safer.

Both commentators asked the council to consider steps to reduce aggressive driving and to improve officer de-escalation and crowd-management practices. The council did not take action at the meeting but heard the comments during the public-comment period. Mayor Johnson and other council members later referenced the events during council remarks and urged civility and neighborliness.