Montana Police Bingo Ends in Case Dismissals

Let me paint you a picture. Right now, you’re in court on charges that an officer was too busy marking off “citizen complaint,” “bodycam off,” or “tased someone” on their homemade bingo card as a shift filler. Sounds like an episode of “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” right? Nope, it’s Bozeman, Montana.

According to KRTV, several criminal cases were dismissed recently after it was discovered that Bozeman Police officers were playing bingo. It was not church basement bingo, not retiree-in-Florida bingo, but cop-on-duty bingo.

It seems that some officers had made bingo cards of what they might see or do during their shifts. The problem? Many of those things were, well, things that should not be games. Force, citizen complaints, and arresting somebody for a certain type of offense. And, yep, some of those officers were actively investigating cases that would eventually land in court. So now, the defense bar is throwing flags like Sunday night football, and judges are tossing cases out like expired condiments in the fridge.

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The city is attempting to clean it up with an internal investigation, and Bozeman PD says they’re treating it “very seriously.” But let’s be real. This smells of bad judgment, bad leadership, and a total inability to read the room.

Nobody’s saying officers can’t blow off steam, though maybe not by turning police work into a game while you’re packing a badge and a taser. The stakes are higher than blackout bingo.

This is not one bad apple. It’s a reminder that public trust is not a toy. And once it’s treated like one, don’t be surprised when cases and credibility crumble.