HAMILTON, Mont. (AP) - A Ravalli County sheriff’s deputy shot and killed a man at a residence southeast of Hamilton after the man, apparently distraught over problems he was having with his girlfriend, pointed a weapon at the officer, the state Department of Justice said.
The department’s Division of Criminal Investigation issued a statement Friday saying the 47-year-old man’s mother called the sheriff’s non-emergency number at 7:39 p.m. Thursday to report her son was having problems with his girlfriend at his residence.
The man then called the sheriff’s office about 8 p.m. asking for a deputy to come to his house. At 8:21 p.m., the man called 911 and began talking about problems he was having with his girlfriend, who was no longer at the residence.
A deputy who arrived shortly before 8:30 p.m. found the man was angry and agitated.
The deputy told Division of Criminal Investigation officers that the man walked toward a weapon in the room. The deputy said he told the man not to pick it up, but the man ignored the deputy’s instruction, picked it up and pointed it at the deputy, the Department of Justice said.
“In response to the threat, the deputy fired on the man and killed him,” the department said in a statement.
The deputy was placed on paid administrative leave while the case is investigated. He was not injured.
The victim’s name was not released.
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