Dutton for Sheriff-Coroner

05/23/2026

During this holiday weekend, our deputies will be working extra shifts concentrating on traffic enforcement and DUI detection and determent. These shifts will be worked throughout the entirety of Lewis and Clark County. If you choose to consume alcohol, please act responsibly and make good choices. Find a sober ride, there are many options for help. Wear a seatbelt and obey traffic laws. We hope you and your family have a fun and safe Memorial Day Weekend. And if you see one of our deputies driving this weekend, smile and wave, and we will smile and wave back.

05/23/2026

What a great day to be out and about in Lewis & Clark County! The weather was perfect to view the amazing cars at the East Helena car show. Thank you to everyone who stopped to chat. I appreciate your support.

05/22/2026

Wednesday, I attended the unveiling of a new historic sign placed at the Lewis and Clark County Hospital Cemetery. Between 1891 and 1916, 831 hospital patients who died, were buried here. The Lewis and Clark County Hospital Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002.

05/19/2026

The students did not make it easy. They all had great topics, data memorized and passion for the delivery. Great Job students!

MTN's Jessica Nelson and Lewis and Clark County Sheriff Leo Dutton were lending a hand, or at least an ear or two, at Helena Christian School on Monday as judges for a speech competition with high school students.

05/17/2026

Tonight was the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation Banquet. The goal of this organization is land management by conservation for wildlife habitat. The attendance was great.

05/15/2026

Today, May 15, 2026 is the Law Enforcement memorial Day. It was my honor to be the keynote speaker for the remembrance ceremony held in Deer Lodge Montana, at the old prison .

Peace officer Memorial Day was established in 1962 by President John F. Kennedy, to honor, federal, state, and municipal Law Enforcement officers who made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty.

The State of Montana followed in 1991. The Montana legislature designated May 15 as Montana Law Enforcement Memorial Day. This solemn remembrance is to occur in Deer Lodge, Montana. Montana Code Annotated 22-3-701.

In 2025, we read that there was 111 Law Enforcement officers killed in a line of duty. In 2026 there have been 36 Law Enforcement killed in the line of duty and the year is not even half over.

Because I am a peace officer, this day is very special to me. I begin attending these remembrance days in 1988. My Law Enforcement Basic class walked in the Remembrance March in Deer Lodge.

When a peace officer is killed, we make statements like, they will never be forgotten. However, that appears Hollow to some of the survivors whose loved ones have been killed in the line of duty. Time passes, life continues for the living, and memories fade. This is not true for the survivors.

It is incumbent upon all of us, just as the memorial day for our veterans to remember those who paid the ultimate price. These peace officers have paid the ultimate price.

As a citizen and a peace officer, I hope to never be brought to my knees because I did not pay respect to those who gave the last full measure. The Bible speaks of this in the New Testament. John 15 verse 13 “greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friend.”

Also, it should be noted that Missoula County Sheriff’s Office will also have a remembrance ceremony in Missoula at 6 PM. This date.

Thank you to the Montana Sheriff’s and Peace Officers Association, President Undersheriff Brent Colbert, MSPOA Honor Guard, other sheriffs and citizens who attended. 

Leo C. Dutton Sheriff/Coroner

05/13/2026

Today, I attended the annual Hope Benefit Luncheon to support The Friendship Center. The full house at the event is a testament to the outstanding community support for this vital organization. www.thefriendshipcenter.org

05/11/2026

As ballots begin showing up in your mail box this week, you may notice that some county-level races (including mine for Sheriff-Coroner) are not listed on the ballot. You also will not see those races when voting in person during the primary election.

The county commissioners voted to eliminate primary contests in races where all candidates would automatically advance to the General Election in November.

Understandably, this may cause some confusion, but the race is still very much on, and I look forward to earning your vote on November 3rd!