DILLON — The state is investigating an incident where a Dillon Police officer shot and wounded an armed man at a residence on Kentucky Avenue Wednesday evening.
Police said the 32-year-old Dillon man was first taken to Barrett Hospital in Dillon and then airlifted to another hospital where he’s being treated for his injuries.
The police officer, along with two deputies with the Beaverhead County Sheriff’s Department, responded to Kentucky Avenue about 6:30 in the evening on a report of a man causing a disturbance in the street.
“He was in the middle street yelling and screaming at cars to the point where cars were having to swerve around him to avoid hitting him,” said Dillon Police Chief Don Guiberson.
Officers tracked the suspect to a residence, knocked on the door - when the victim came to the door, he allegedly had a handgun in his waistband.
“At that point officers told him to raise his hands, to not grab the weapon, the suspect did not obey the commands of the officers and unfortunately grabbed his gun and began to draw it out and at that point, the officer had to engage,” the chief said.
The chief says the interaction between law enforcement and the victim was very quick and his officer had no other choice but to use his weapon.
“The officer had his body camera on and from what I witnessed, it’s a sad situation but, I truly feel the officer need to do what he had to do,” said Guiberson.
No one else was injured in this shooting. The Dillon officer was the only one to fire his gun and the state's Department of Criminal Investigation is handling this case.
