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Activists arrested during bison hazing operations
By SCOTT McMILLION, Chronicle Staff Writer
Two activists were arrested during bison hazing operations near West Yellowstone this week and one of them faces felony charges after allegedly kicking out a Montana Highway Patrol vehicle window.
The Montana Department of Livestock was hazing 300 to 400 bison toward Yellowstone National Park on Wednesday afternoon, using vehicles, horses and a helicopter.
That ongoing operation, which occurs every spring, was being documented by members of the Buffalo Field Campaign, a bison activist group.
One of the campaign's members, Peter David Bogusko, was upset about what he considered a lack of traffic control and was telling MHP Officer Shane Cox to close the highway before bison started running across it, endangering people and animals, according to a BFC press release that called it a “heated exchange.”
However, the highway had already been closed by U.S. Forest Service officials, according to MHP Capt. Tom Butler.
He said Bogusko and an unnamed woman defied Cox's orders to leave the area and tried to run away. Cox chased Bogusko down and when he again refused to leave, Cox arrested him.
“We erred on the side of public safety,” Butler said Thursday. “We felt we had to get those people out of the closure zone.”
“I heard Peter screaming," Dan Brister, who has worked for BFC for years and was filming the hazing operation from a bluff near the Madison River, said Thursday.
Brister then approached Cox's patrol car and saw Bogusko in the back seat, he said.
Brister said Cox then ordered him to move back, so he went to the rear of the patrol car, which he thought would be a safe area.
The police and the protesters differ on what happened next.
Brister said he was standing behind the patrol car and, “the next thing I knew, my face was in the ground. He tackled me from behind.”
“He was assisted to the ground, handcuffed and placed in the patrol car,” was how Butler described it. He called it a “tense, rapidly evolving situation” in which several hundred bison were approaching in a hurry.
“I'll take my guy's word and see where it goes from here,” Butler said.
Brister hit the ground hard enough that he later received three staples in his head at Bozeman Deaconess Hospital emergency room.
At some point, Bogusko allegedly kicked out the passenger-side window of the patrol car. He faces a felony criminal mischief charge, along with a misdemeanor charge of obstructing a peace officer, and remains in the Gallatin County jail in lieu of $3,000 bond.
Brister was cited for obstructing a peace officer and resisting arrest. He said Thursday he planned to plead not guilty. He was not jailed, though, and law officers drove him from West Yellowstone to Bozeman and back for medical treatment.
The BFC is a constant presence during bison operations in and around Yellowstone. Its members used to court arrest by building obstacles to bison capture or slaughter operations, and although arrests have been rare in recent years, testy exchanges sometimes occur with law enforcement or DOL officials.
“I'm really disappointed that we've got down to this level,” Butler said. “We've been able to coexist for the past few years.”
Officers also seized video cameras used by both Brister and Bogusko. They will be returned after copies of the tapes are made for evidence, Butler said.
By SCOTT McMILLION, Chronicle Staff Writer
Two activists were arrested during bison hazing operations near West Yellowstone this week and one of them faces felony charges after allegedly kicking out a Montana Highway Patrol vehicle window.
The Montana Department of Livestock was hazing 300 to 400 bison toward Yellowstone National Park on Wednesday afternoon, using vehicles, horses and a helicopter.
That ongoing operation, which occurs every spring, was being documented by members of the Buffalo Field Campaign, a bison activist group.
One of the campaign's members, Peter David Bogusko, was upset about what he considered a lack of traffic control and was telling MHP Officer Shane Cox to close the highway before bison started running across it, endangering people and animals, according to a BFC press release that called it a “heated exchange.”
However, the highway had already been closed by U.S. Forest Service officials, according to MHP Capt. Tom Butler.
He said Bogusko and an unnamed woman defied Cox's orders to leave the area and tried to run away. Cox chased Bogusko down and when he again refused to leave, Cox arrested him.
“We erred on the side of public safety,” Butler said Thursday. “We felt we had to get those people out of the closure zone.”
“I heard Peter screaming," Dan Brister, who has worked for BFC for years and was filming the hazing operation from a bluff near the Madison River, said Thursday.
Brister then approached Cox's patrol car and saw Bogusko in the back seat, he said.
Brister said Cox then ordered him to move back, so he went to the rear of the patrol car, which he thought would be a safe area.
The police and the protesters differ on what happened next.
Brister said he was standing behind the patrol car and, “the next thing I knew, my face was in the ground. He tackled me from behind.”
“He was assisted to the ground, handcuffed and placed in the patrol car,” was how Butler described it. He called it a “tense, rapidly evolving situation” in which several hundred bison were approaching in a hurry.
“I'll take my guy's word and see where it goes from here,” Butler said.
Brister hit the ground hard enough that he later received three staples in his head at Bozeman Deaconess Hospital emergency room.
At some point, Bogusko allegedly kicked out the passenger-side window of the patrol car. He faces a felony criminal mischief charge, along with a misdemeanor charge of obstructing a peace officer, and remains in the Gallatin County jail in lieu of $3,000 bond.
Brister was cited for obstructing a peace officer and resisting arrest. He said Thursday he planned to plead not guilty. He was not jailed, though, and law officers drove him from West Yellowstone to Bozeman and back for medical treatment.
The BFC is a constant presence during bison operations in and around Yellowstone. Its members used to court arrest by building obstacles to bison capture or slaughter operations, and although arrests have been rare in recent years, testy exchanges sometimes occur with law enforcement or DOL officials.
“I'm really disappointed that we've got down to this level,” Butler said. “We've been able to coexist for the past few years.”
Officers also seized video cameras used by both Brister and Bogusko. They will be returned after copies of the tapes are made for evidence, Butler said.
