BILLINGS — A 29-year-old man from Box Elder was fatally shot by two police officers in Billings on Monday after he reportedly pointed a semi-automatic handgun at the officers.
The officers were investigating a call for "suspicious activity" in an apartment complex parking lot near the 2200 block of Avenue C.
Billings Police Chief Rich St. John said at a news conference on Tuesday that two cars with three suspects were parked at odd angles in the parking lot when a neighbor called in the activity around at 10:20 p.m. on Monday.
Officers tried to detain the 29-year-old man for questioning and he refused to comply. Officers deployed a Taser with no effect, the altercation turned physical, and officers wrestled him to the ground. The man struggled with officers on the ground in a face-down position. The officers were trying to get the man's hands out from underneath his body and deployed a Taser with no success.
St. John said officers saw the man brandish a semi-automatic black handgun and point it at the four officers.
"At some point during the struggle, the male was able to pull a semi-automatic hand gun from his waist band area and pointed it at the officers. One of the officers saw the gun and yelled a warning to the others. Officers disengaged and two (officers) fired multiple rounds striking the man," St. John said.
Two officers, Ryland Nelson and Justin Bickford, fired several shots at the man. It's not clear yet how many shots they fired or how many hit the man. He was taken to a Billings hospital and later died from his gunshot wounds.
St. John said, "None of the officers present were equipped with body cameras, however multiple in-car cameras were on and are being reviewed.”
Both officers sustained minor injuries, St. John said. They are on administrative leave in accordance with standard department policy and working through the officer-involved shooting protocol.
The two other suspects were interviewed at the scene and released that night, St. John said.
"This was a rapidly evolving incident that took place under 30 seconds and it could have been disastrous. I am very relieved that officers Bickford and Nelson are uninjured and my thoughts are with those all who are affected," St. John said.
St. John said the initial investigation found that no shots were fired at the officers. "At this point, it is unknown if any shots were fired at the officers. The initial assessment is that no shots were fired, but the investigation continues," St. John said.
The man was taken to a Billings hospital and later died of his gunshot wounds. St. John said the man's identity will be released by the Yellowstone County Coroner following the notification of family members.
“He is well known to law enforcement both statewide and local. He is a probation and parole absconder out of Hill County and additionally one of the two cars were stolen," St. John said.
St. John said the incident is still being investigated; we will update you when we get more details.
Click here to watch the complete video of the news conference.
