Alexis has been with the Missoula Police Department since August 2015. He also serves as the treasurer for the local police association in Missoula.
Myles Connelly is currently a Senior Patrolman with the Lewistown Police Department. He has been serving in law enforcement since 2015.
Ryan is a sergeant with the Havre Police Department, where he has served since 2009. No, he is not a dog—but when asked for a photo for the website this is what he sent.
We are an association run by, and for, police officers. With more than 700 active members across our state, the MPPA is the foremost law enforcement organization in Montana.
Police officers from around the state organized the MPPA to make the profession of policing better for every police officer. These courageous officers began a movement to make things better through legislative measures and collective bargaining.
Life in policing was extremely difficult and the members of the MPPA saw an increased need to formalize the organization to set a firm foundation for the rest of us to build on. As a result, the MPPA was incorporated in 1955.
The MPPA Memorial Scholarship Fund was established in 1989. The fund was created to assist children of MPPA members, retiree’s, or medically retired members and is still helping families across Montana mitigate the increasing expense of continuing education.
The MPPA Executive Director and Legislative Committee were able to pass legislation in 1991 that created the 20-year retirement through MPORS. It is the result of the hard work of the MPPA that Montana’s police officers have the ability to retire after 20 years of service, regardless of the age at which they are able to retire. It was at this time that MPPA also began providing death benefits to the families of fallen officers.
MPPA began providing legal defense services to its members through a PORAC Legal Defense Fund. PORAC provides MPPA members with access to a panel of experienced attorneys, no financial cap on benefits, and over $8 million in reserves.
MPPA established the MPPA Foundation—a tax-exempt non-profit organization—in 2005. The Foundation is dedicated to helping law enforcement officers and their families, and took over the administration of the MPPA Memorial Scholarship Fund at that time.
The MPPA formed the MPPA PAC to engage in elections and support candidates that support the issues of importance to law enforcement officers.
The MPPA is more active now than ever. Our member benefits range from providing legal defense, death benefits, and scholarships to training opportunities and legislative advocacy on behalf of our members.
Our primary mission and first priority will always be to serve the members of our law enforcement community in Montana. Our officers and their families have dedicated their lives to serving our communities—and we take returning the favor seriously.
Members of the law enforcement community in Montana face no shortage of challenges. From legislative attacks on officers’ retirement benefits to attempts to erode legal protections for officers, we believe it is an essential part of MPPA’s mission to fight for pro-law enforcement policies.
Regardless of whether our members are part of a rural or urban police department, the lack of funding for (or availability of) training is often difficult to overcome. As a result, we have made it part of our mission to not only disseminate information about local trainings, but to actively host POST-certified trainings that are accessible to members of our association.
Law enforcement families sacrifice a great deal in service to their communities, so we try to support them whenever possible. Whether if is contributing to the medical bills of an injured officer or providing scholarships to the children of officers, we realize that the sacrifices demanded by a career in law enforcement are not isolated to the officer, and extend to their family as well.
MPPA’s mission is to not only support our officers, but to give back to the community, which is why MPPA started the MPPA Foundation in 2005. The MPPA Foundation is proud to provide scholarship opportunities and charitable contributions to non-profit efforts such as the Special Olympics, CASA, the Montana Law Enforcement Museum, Operation Lifesaver, and many others.
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