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Kalispell police officers work to keep warm as temps drop

Kalispell Police Winter
Posted at 2:05 PM, Jan 14, 2020
and last updated 2020-01-14 16:05:37-05

KALISPELL — Kalispell police officers are taking extra precautions as the temperatures dip in Northwest Montana.

Kalispell Patrol Officer Sean Keller -- who wears insulated base layers under his uniform to stay warm -- says the options to stay warm on patrol are limited.

Keller added that winter clothing like mittens and jackets can restrict access to their weapons and body cameras, so they need to fall within police regulation.

That also means all police jackets have official department badges.

Officer Keller keeps his patrol car running but says at the end of the day it's hard to stay warm.

"There's not really a day when you can just come in and say, I really feel warm. Just because we are so restricted with everything that we have to wear,” Keller said.

He added that when temperatures drop, officers try and conduct their investigations at the station, instead of on the road.

This way, they have a chance to warm up before heading back out on patrol.