Yellowstone County Honors Officers At Annual Angel Tree Ceremony

The Yellowstone County DUI Taskforce held their annual Angel Tree Ceremony to honor officers and remember victims of drunk driving. Gabriel Seibert from the Laurel Police Department shared how public safety motivates him to remove impaired drivers from the roads. The ceremony also highlighted the shocking statistic that two-thirds of fatal DUI crashes in the county involve first-time offenders.

Justin Dubail
NonStop Local Multimedia Journalist

BILLINGS, Mont. – The Yellowstone County DUI Taskforce held its annual Angel Tree ceremony at the county courthouse, emphasizing the importance of spreading awareness against driving under the influence.

The ceremony recognizes officers for their efforts in keeping roadways safe and memorializes those who have lost their lives due to drunk driving accidents.

“It’s not just the individual that was killed in the offense, but it also affects the family and friends for generations down,” said chairman of the taskforce Brandon Ihde.

In 2023, someone in Yellowstone County was affected by a driver under the influence every three and a half days, according to the taskforce chairman. The taskforce aims to reduce the number of unsafe drivers and honor law enforcement agents who contribute to this mission.

This year, six officers from various departments were recognized for their leadership in DUI enforcement. Gabriel Seibert from the Laurel Police Department, who made 19 DUI arrests this year, shared his motivation.

“Really my big thing is public safety. Nobody wants to see anyone else get hurt, and if I can do a little part to get dangerous drivers off the road because they’re impaired, I’m more than happy to do that, and do everything that I can to make everybody safe,” Seibert said.

An angel was added to the tree to honor Uwe Krahe, a victim of drunk driving who tragically lost his life in July 2022.

Ihde highlighted a common misconception about DUI offenses.

“One of the statistics that was provided by the Yellowstone County Attorney’s office today is that out of the fatal crashes in Yellowstone County involving DUI, two-thirds of those were a first-time DUI offender. They had never been convicted of a DUI prior to killing somebody. Which is kind of in opposition of what everybody thinks, that it’s the habitual DUI drivers that kill people. Well, you’re statistically more likely to kill somebody on your first attempt,” Ihde said.

Officers emphasized the importance of remembering innocent victims of impaired driving and vowed to continue their efforts to keep roads safe.