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This article is about a private security firm. For information about the official law enforcement bodies in the United States, see Law enforcement in the United States.
American Private Police Force
FounderMichael Hilton
HeadquartersUnited States
Websiteamericanpolicegroup.com Now defunct

American Police Force (APF), and under its revised name American Private Police Force, was a fraudulent entity claiming to be a private military company. It never possessed any legitimacy to operate in the United States.[1] The company's previous logo was an exact copy of the Serbian state coat of arms which caused some controversy and resulted in the Serbian government threatening legal action against APF if it did not remove or change the logo.

In September 2009, US government contract databases showed no record of the company, while security industry representatives and federal officials said they had never heard of it.[1]

APF was registered as a corporation in California by convicted con man Michael Hilton on 2 March 2009.[2] However, the company did not have a business license to operate in California or Montana[citation needed]. Hilton was also discovered to have an extensive criminal history.[3]

Services offered by APF included "interdicting terror activity, interdicting weapons of mass destruction, international airline security, cheating spouse investigations, polygraph testing, kidnapping response, and weapons sales, including 'Nuclear/Biological/Chemical (WMD).'"[4]

On October 5, 2009, Academi (formerly Blackwater and Xe) denied being affiliated with APF.[5]

Taking over a Montana jail facility

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In 2009, APF was contracted to control and operate the Two Rivers Detention Facility,[6] a prison facility which had been empty for over two years in Hardin, a town in Montana's Big Horn County.[7] The contract was reportedly a 10-year, multimillion-dollar deal.[6]

According to a CBS News article, dated September 29, 2009, the APF was "a little known company which claims to specialize in training military and security forces overseas", which has "seemingly taken control of a $27 million, never-used jail, and a rural Montana town's nonexistent police force."[8] Following APF's Mercedes SUVs entering the community with "City of Hardin Police Department" stenciled on the side of its vehicles, a city official released a statement dismissing such accusations: "There are no commandos in the streets. There is no fence or gate being built around Hardin. People are free to come and go as they please. APF is not running our town or our police force."[9] The city of Hardin had no official police department, and traditionally relied on the Big Horn County Sheriffs department police protection.[8]

According to a reporter's blog dated October 1, 2009, on the USA Today website, it is unclear why and by which authority the APF had taken control over the empty jail facility.[10] However, CNN had reported in April 2009 that Hardin city officials might invite and willingly host a Guantanamo Bay detention camp-style prison in order to improve the economic situation of the city, even though Senator Max Baucus of Montana opposed the idea and said that it would be a security risk.[11]

Steve Bullock, the Attorney General of Montana, investigated APF for possible violations of the Montana Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Act in connection with dubious statements on APF's website with regard to APF's operations and supposed contracts with the federal government.[12]

As the story unveiled, Serbian authorities stated that the coat of arms appearing in the APF logo was being used illegally and requested its removal[13] and a California attorney who worked with APF cut his ties to the project.[14]

Michael Cohen, a former supervisor for the Secret Service, was named by Michael Hilton as the future operations director for the jail facility.[15] Cohen, who served 14 months in prison for stealing $2,800 from the government,[16] admitted submitting a resume to APF several weeks before, but decided not to follow it up when Michael Hilton declined to give him information about the company.[17]

On October 9, it was announced that American Police Force would not be taking over the jail after all. It spokeswoman, Becky Shay, a former beat reporter for the Billings Gazette, denied any wrongdoings on the part of the company, but said, "Two Rivers deserves a considerably less-controversial partner."[18]

On October 13, Steve Bullock, the Attorney General of Montana, dropped his investigation.[19]

Michael Hilton

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Orange County court records[20] list the following aliases for Michael Hilton, the head of APF:

  • Michael Hilton
  • Midrag Ilia Dokovitch
  • Michael Anthony Hilton
  • Michael Miodrag
  • Michael Djokic
  • Miodrag Dokich
  • Anthony Michael Hilton
  • Michael Dokich
  • Midrag Ilia Dokovich
  • Miodrag Djokic
  • Michael Ilia Hilton
  • David Michael Comella
  • Michael Kokich
  • Djokic Michael Miodrag
  • Michael Dokovich
  • Miodrag Mic Djokic
  • Michael Djokich

The alias Michael Miodrag is listed as being involved in a 2007 multimillion-dollar fraud case in Australia. Australian authorities said they want to question him but no charges have been filed.[21]

Becky Shay

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Becky Shay (born Rebecca Lee Shay on January 3, 1969) is APF's spokesman and only employee in Montana.[15] Shay filed two reports about the company[22] before abruptly leaving her job as a reporter for the Billings Gazette to begin working with APF as a spokesman in less than 24 hours.[23]

Following the APF's involvement with the Two Rivers Detention Facility, Shay worked as a crime analyst for the Billings Police Department from November 2011[24] to 2016, when she became the department's Records Supervisor.[25]

References

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  1. ^ a b Questions swirling around jail deal from Billings Gazette
  2. ^ AMERICAN PRIVATE POLICE FORCE ORG INC. Archived August 24, 2013, at the Wayback Machine from California Secretary of State website
  3. ^ "American Police Force official has extensive criminal record", Billings Gazette, October 1, 2009
    - Hardin Jail Entrepreneur Has Checkered Past from Associated Press (October 1, 2009)
    - Investigative Research re American Private Police Force Organization from Prison Legal News (October 1, 2009)
  4. ^ "American Police Force Offers Fugitive Tracking, 'Covert Pregnancy Testing' and More!". October 2009.
  5. ^ "Scrubbed: APF Web Page That Claimed Ownership Of Blackwater Training Center Now Reads 'ETA Spring 2010'". 2009-10-05.
  6. ^ a b Shay, Becky; Deines, Kahrin (10 September 2009). "Hardin jail inks contract with California company for inmates, other services". Billings Gazette. Retrieved 7 February 2017.
  7. ^ Shay, Becky (11 May 2009). "From concept to controversy: Timeline of Two Rivers Detention Facility". Billings Gazette. Retrieved 7 February 2017. September 2007 - Construction is complete, and Two Rivers Detention Center is ready to open but has no contracts for inmates.
  8. ^ a b Katz, Neil (September 29, 2009). "American Police Force Corporation Takes Over Small Town Police Force and Prisoner-Less Jail". CBS News.
  9. ^ Editorial: Short takes Archived February 1, 2013, at archive.today, The Roanoke Times, October 3, 2009. Retrieved October 3, 2009.
  10. ^ "What is the American Police Force and what is it doing in Montana?", USA Today, October 1, 2009 Archived October 3, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ "CNN.com Video". CNN. Retrieved April 23, 2010.
  12. ^ McKee, Jennifer (October 2009). "Montana attorney general to investigate APF". Billing Gazette.
  13. ^ P. Z. Veličković (October 3, 2009). "Firma iz SAD da skine grb Srbije". Blic (in Serbian). Archived from the original on October 5, 2009. Retrieved October 3, 2009.
    - Nick Lough (October 2, 2009). "More Legal Issues for APF". KULR-8. Archived from the original on October 4, 2009. Retrieved October 4, 2009.
  14. ^ Matthew Brown (2 October 2009). "California attorney cuts ties to Hardin jail project". Billings Gazette. Associated Press.
  15. ^ a b Matthew Brown (5 October 2009). "Montana city's jail deal delayed amid controversy". Associated Press. Archived from the original on October 16, 2009. Retrieved November 10, 2016.
  16. ^ "Cohen serves 14 months in prison". The Washington Post.[dead link]
  17. ^ [1][dead link]
  18. ^ "Becky Shay denies any wrongdoings".[dead link]
  19. ^ [2][dead link]
  20. ^ Vision Public
  21. ^ Jesse Wray-McCann (14 April 2009). "Brighton mansion in million dollar fraud". Bayside Leader. Archived from the original on October 8, 2009. Retrieved October 14, 2009.
    - Jesse Wray-McCann (13 April 2009). "Chelsea detectives launch missing cash probe". Mordialloc Chelsea Leader. Archived from the original on October 14, 2009. Retrieved October 4, 2009.
  22. ^ Shay, Becky (24 September 2009). "APF arrives with cop car prototype for Hardin". Billings Gazette. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
    - Shay, Becky (24 September 2009). "Hardin planning to have own cops". Billings Gazette. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  23. ^ "Shay named spokesperson for American Police Force". Billings Gazette. 25 September 2009. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  24. ^ "The City Link". City of Billings. 2015. p. 5. Retrieved February 7, 2017. Becky Shay has been the Department's Crime Analyst since November 2011...
  25. ^ Kemmick, Ed (26 July 2016). "Graffiti art, and illegal tagging, proliferating in Billings". Last Best News. Retrieved 7 February 2017. ...Becky Shay, who recently left her position as the crime analyst for the Billings Police Department to work as its records supervisor.
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