Cascade County deputy killed during high-speed chase

A Cascade County sheriff's deputy was killed Thursday afternoon during a high-speed vehicle chase that stretched from Belt to Black Eagle.

Cascade County Attorney John Parker confirmed Thursday night that a deputy had been killed during the incident. He said that an investigation has been launched and no further details would be available Thursday night.

Commissioner Jane Weber, speaking as a resident of Cascade County and not as a representative of the sheriff's office, expressed grief and shock.

"Deputy sheriffs, like all first responders, put their lives on the line every single day for the safety of our citizens," Weber said. "This is a tragedy that affects the entire county, and it affects everyone who knows what people like this do for us. We extend our deepest sympathies to the family at this time."

Events began around 3:30 p.m., with emergency dispatch personnel reporting a high-speed chase in progress near the Armington Junction interchange west of Belt on U.S. Highway 87. Shortly thereafter, dispatch reported a deputy had been struck by a vehicle near mile marker 77.

Both eastbound and westbound lanes of traffic were closed on U.S. 87 about three miles west of the Belt turnoff, while officers from both the Cascade County Sheriff's Office and the Montana Highway Patrol scoured the northern side of the roadway and down into a recessed borrow pit. Traffic was backed up for several miles in both directions as the highway remained closed for close to 45 minutes.

There was no immediate visible sign of broken glass, leaked fluids or debris at the site that would indicate a vehicle collision had occurred. A Belt ambulance left the scene at high speed while a Mercy Flight helicopter circled overhead.

According to the Montana Highway Patrol, the incidents in the Belt area and Black Eagle were related, and multiple law enforcement agencies were involved in the chase.

The vehicle stopped by police in Black Eagle was a black, newer-model sedan. The car's front two tires were torn to shreds, and its driver's side window broken out. There was substantial damage to the car's passenger side door. Witnesses said when the car was stopped, the male driver punched several officers and was Tazed, but officials have not yet confirmed that information.

There appeared to be a single male occupant of the vehicle. He was taken from the scene by ambulance.

The owner of the Little Chicago Club bar and restaurant immediately adjacent to the 15th Street Bridge said that shortly before 5 p.m. police officers came into her business and told all the customers they were not to leave the premises under any conditions.

"Everybody that was in the bar was told to stay in the bar, don't even think about going out on 15th Street, don't go out that side door because there could be shots fired," business owner Darla Kelman said.

Police temporarily blocked off 15th Street at North River Road through Montana Avenue while investigators walked the road. Witnesses reported that the driver threw something from the car, but the road was reopened after investigators swept the area.

A trooper from MHP arrived at the Smelter Avenue scene to investigate while city and county agencies were still on scene.

MHP declined to comment Thursday afternoon and said the case may be referred Department of Justice's Division of Criminal Investigation. Officials from the Cascade County Sheriff's Office were unavailable for comment Thursday night.

Last county deputy death was in 1928

Thursday's death of a Cascade County sheriff's deputy marks the second occasion in the department's 127-year history that a deputy has died in the line of duty.

The last death occurred Dec. 11, 1928, when Chief Deputy Herbert Locke was shot and killed while attempting to arrest a man during a domestic disturbance. According to the Officer Down Memorial Page, the man who shot and killed Locke had threatened to shoot his wife. Locke was trying to coax the man out of a closet when the man suddenly shot Locke. The man then shot and killed himself.

Great Falls police deaths

The Great Falls Police Department has seen five officers fall in the line of duty. The most recent occurred Sept. 7, 1994, when Senior Officer Shane Russell Chadwick was shot and killed while responding to a noise complaint at an apartment complex. The suspect was a mentally ill man known as "Birdman" who was shoveling birdseed to hundreds of birds. As Chadwick approached the suspect, he suddenly turned and shot Chadwick with two 9 mm handguns. The suspect was later shot and killed by a police sniper.

Eight troopers from the Montana Highway Patrol have died in the department's 79-year history; four of those deaths occurred in the past seven years. The most recent was Dec. 1, 2010, when Trooper David James DeLaittre was shot and killed while conducting a vehicle stop near Three Forks. DeLaittre had stopped to investigate a pickup idling in the middle of the highway, when the driver exited the vehicle and began firing at DeLaittre. The two men exchanged fire repeatedly, even after DeLaittre had been shot in the abdomen with a 12-gauge shotgun. The suspect was found dead several hours later, having driven into the nearby mountains where he committed suicide.

— Source: Officer Down Memorial Page, http://www.odmp.org/