Police: Box Elder man killed by Billings officers pulled a gun

Billings police report that a 29-year-old Box Elder man who died after Billings police officers shot him Monday pulled a gun while the officers were trying to detain him.

The name of the Box Elder man has not been released pending notification of relatives.

Billings Police Chief Rich St. John said officers Ryland Nelson and Justin Bickford of the Billings Police Department shot the 29-year-old Box Elder man, during a physical altercation around 10:20 p.m. Monday.

St. John said during a press conference Tuesday that the officers were dispatched to the 2200 block of Avenue C Monday night on a call regarding suspicious activity in the area where they made contact with the decedent and two other suspects.

He said the Box Elder man resisted officers who were attempting to detain him, beginning an altercation that ended with the man on the ground refusing to produce his hands to be cuffed by the officers.

St. John said the man then pulled out a semi-automatic handgun and pointed it at officers, after which Nelson and Bickford fired multiple rounds into the man after warning fellow officers of the firearm.

St. John said it was not known for sure by the time of the press conference if any shots were fired from the semi-automatic handgun, but the initial investigation suggests none were.

The suspect was taken to a hospital for treatment of his wounds where he died. St. John said.

Nelson and Bickford suffered minor injuries, he said.

The other suspects were detained, interviewed and released, he added.

He said the incident will be subject to a thorough investigation by the department’s detective division, after which it will be sent to Yellowstone County Attorney’s Office and the Montana Department of Justice, which will perform a third-party-review.

He said neither officer was wearing body cameras at the time, however, the squad car cameras are being reviewed for evidence.

He said the department is not making a judgment about whether the officers acted within department policy, as the department’s understanding of the incident may change as the investigation, which is still in its early stages, continues.

Both officers are on administrative leave as policy dictates, St. John said, and the department will keep the public updated.

St. John said the decedent was well known to law enforcement as being involved with drug-related activity and described him as a probation and parole absconder out of Hill County.

He said one of the two vehicles the suspects arrived on scene with was stolen and Highway Patrol had chased them more than once in unrelated incidents.

St. John said he wishes the result of the incident had been different, but that outcome would have required different behavior on the part of the decedent, at least based on the information the department has so far.

“Had the decedent complied with the officers he probably would have gotten a notice on outstanding warrants and we wouldn’t be having this discussion today,” he said.

St. John said the man’s name is being withheld until relatives are notified.

“My thoughts are with all those who are affected,” he said.