Hardin

APPF Backs Out Of Hardin Jail Deal

Zachary Roth | October 9, 2009, 6:01PM

American Police Force logo

The end has come...

Controversial private security contractor American Private Police Fore has officially backed out of a deal with Hardin, Montana, to run a local prison, APPF spokeswoman Beck Shay announced this afternoon. (Watch Shay's press conference here.)

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American Police Force

The Tragedy Of Becky Shay: Beleaguered APPF Spox Presses On

Justin Elliott | October 7, 2009, 6:36PM

Becky Shay

It's been a rough couple of weeks for Becky Shay, the spokeswoman for the American Private Police Force.

Amid it all -- the tearful press conference, the confrontations with a conspiracist shock jock who parachuted in from Texas, the media scrutiny of her abrupt career shift from Billings Gazette reporter covering APPF to the public face of APPF, and, above all, the persistent charges that her new company is a fraud -- Shay has kept her eye on the ball.

And, she told TPMmuckraker in an interview today, she's damn proud of it.

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American Police Force

APPF's 'Major Security Firm' Parent Company: Does It Exist?

Justin Elliott | October 6, 2009, 12:49PM

Michael Hilton

One of the abiding mysteries of the American Private Police Force story is who, if anyone, provided the financial backing the private security company claims to have.

As the project unravels and more of APPF's claims are shown to be dubious, it seems like the key question is not who the parent company is, but: does it actually exist?

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American Police Force

APF Deal Let Shady Firm Provide Law Enforcement For Hardin

Zachary Roth | October 5, 2009, 4:57PM

The news that a mysterious private security contractor has been hired to take control of a prison in the tiny Montana town of Hardin has set off some outlandish conspiracy theories -- like the notion that the deal represents the first wave of President Obama's plan to "have all major cities locked down" by the end of October.

But one related concern -- that the contractor, now calling itself the American Private Police Force, could take over law enforcement duties for Hardin -- turns out not to be far-fetched at all. Indeed, the agreement that APPF -- at the time known simply as American Police Force (APF) -- signed with city's economic development arm, the Two Rivers Authority (TRA), specifically provides for that possibility.

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American Police Force

Scrubbed: APF Web Page That Claimed Ownership Of Blackwater Training Center Now Reads 'ETA Spring 2010'

Justin Elliott | October 5, 2009, 12:31PM

We knew that American Police Force, the shadowy private security company that has taken over an empty jail in a small Montana town, has a history of making outlandish and flat-out bogus claims. And it now appears that the company is taking some of the criticism to heart.

The firm, which is now calling itself American Private Police Force (feel better?), has toned down -- ever so slightly -- some of its colorful Web site's claims. (Old version here, current version here.)

APPF has deleted a reference to a training facility which it had earlier claimed to control, but which is in fact owned by Xe, aka Blackwater,

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American Police Force

Hardin Official Fights 'Outlandish' APF Rumors

Zachary Roth | October 2, 2009, 5:32PM

A Hardin Montana official is trying to quell rumors that the town is "becoming a police state, having private paramilitary security forces, building gates at the town entrances, taking residents to the detention center that refuse to get swine flu shots, registering your firearms, and blocking off our main street," among other fears.

In a statement, Al Peterson of the city's economic development agency, the Two Rivers Authority (TRA), responds to fears stoked by Hardin's deal with American Police Force, a mysterious private security contractor, to provide prisoners for an empty prison in town.

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American Police Force

Mysterious Private Security Firm Gets Control Of Empty Jail In Small Montana Town

Justin Elliott | September 30, 2009, 3:16PM

American Police Force logo

A shadowy private security company that has no known clients but claims to have helped foreign governments combat terrorism and will protect anything from cruise ships to Pakistani convoys has taken over a jail in a small Montana town, with plans to build a law enforcement training facility on the property.

The state legislature is looking into the matter and residents of Hardin, MT, were alarmed last week when executives from the firm, American Police Force, showed up in the town, which does not have its own police department, with Mercedes SUVs bearing "City Of Hardin Police Department" decals.

And the town has had to tamp down reports on conspiracy Web sites that APF plans to impose experimental H1N1 vaccines on residents under threat of quarantine in the jail.

Under a lease signed with Hardin, APF, based in Santa Ana, California, and incorporated just six months ago, is now in control of a 400-bed detention facility the town built a few years ago but never used, a town official confirmed to TPMmuckraker today. The town reportedly stands to make over $2 million per year.

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