Case closed in off-duty officer-involved shooting of burglar
No charges have been filed in the Dec. 27 shooting that involved an off-duty Great Falls Police Department officer.
County Attorney Josh Racki told The Electric that, “after reviewing the reports from the DCI investigation, I have determined that the off-duty officers’ actions were in compliance with Montana’s justifiable use of force laws. Because the discharge of the firearm was justified, no charges will be filed in this matter.”
DCI is the Montana Department of Justice’s Division of Criminal Investigation.
Off-duty GFPD officer involved in shooting
The officer is back to work, according to GFPD.
Racki said no charges will be filed against the suspect either.
At about 4:24 a.m. Dec. 27, a male attempted to unlawfully break into the home of an off-duty officer and the “incident evolved to the point the officer fired a gun and the male was shot. The male was transported to the hospital and was treated for non-life threatening injuries,” according to a release from GFPD.
GFPD Chief Jeff Newton asked DCI to lead the investigation.
Once that investigation was complete, the case was forwarded to the Cascade County Attorney’s office for review.
Per department policy, the officer was placed on administrative leave pending the completion of the investigation, according to GFPD.
The department is not releasing the name of the officer or the male involved at this time.
