Congratulations to all those who guessed that the ‘Phoenix’ crest used by American Police Forces (aka American Police Group) represents Serbia. According to an article written this morning by Bob van der Valk of montanawithkids.com, Michael Hilton was born in Montenegro, Serbia. Van der Valk made a few investigative phone calls to Hardin citizens to verify or debunk some of the internet rumors. His first call was to the mayor’s wife:
I informed her that the Internet community and talk radio were rife with reports that this private security force is already patrolling their town and that they had stopped several people in town yesterday. Those same reports also stated that they were building some type of heavy duty gates at the entrances into town. “No way is that happening”, she said, “ I would know since I drive around town every day and would have noticed anything out of place” She said that her husband had been fielding a lot of calls from inquiring reporters and others peppering him with questions about the American Police Force contract.
While the mayor’s wife might be inclined toward ‘partisanship’, van der Valk confirmed her answer through calls to several other citizens. Van der Valk also verified details of a recent AP article about APF’s arrival in town, and he answered the mystery about the captain’s reportedly ‘thick Russian accent’ and the odd emblem used by the APF group:
We did confirm that the Town of Hardin, Montana held a news conference conducted by Becky Shay, the spokesperson for the “American Police Force”, last Saturday. They had shown up earlier in the week with three darkened out Mercedes SUV’s with Hardin Police decals on their side doors. She quickly debunked the fact that they were taking over policing the town and the decals have been removed. The decals included a crest that closely resembles the Serbian-Montenegro national crest making the vehicles look even more official. One of their principals with the APF, Michael Hilton, was born in Montenegro and has been using the vehicles as a good faith symbol in dealing with Hardin and Two Rivers Authority officials to be used at the new facility.
Be sure to visit the MontanaWithKids.com website to read the entire article. Link: MontanaWithKids.com » American Police Force hits Hardin, Montana.
