Mont. Police officer stabbed during standoff in bar bathroom

By means of Phil Drake

Source Independent Record, Helena, Mont.

A man was killed and a Helena police officer was injured late Saturday at a bar after the man barricaded himself in a bathroom and stabbed the officer with a knife, authorities said.

Police Chief Brett Petty said officers were called to The Jesters Bar at 200 N. Rodney St. at 11:42 p.m. for a report of a person refusing to leave and barricading themselves in the bathroom.

Jesters employees were able to get the man to leave early, but staff said he jumped a fence and entered the business through the back door. They said he barricaded himself in the public bathroom. Officers attempted to contact the man, but he refused to leave the bathroom, Petty said in a news release.

He brandished a knife at officers and officers tried to detain him with “less lethal force” by using a Taser, Petty said. In an attempt to restrain the man, he stabbed the first contact officer “causing the officers to fire their service weapons and strike the man.”

Petty said officers provided the man with medical aid, but he died from his injuries. He was pronounced dead at the scene by medical personnel. His identity is not being released at this time.

The injured officer was taken to St. Peter’s emergency room by an East Helena police officer. He was treated for his injury and is in stable condition. No other officers were injured during the incident, Petty said. The names of the officers involved are not being released at this time.

Petty said that per department policy, the officers involved in the incident have been placed on administrative leave. He also said the Lewis and Clark County Sheriff’s Office has also been called in per Helena Police Department protocol and is conducting an independent investigation to ensure transparency and impartiality.

“Our thoughts and prayers go out to all individuals involved and affected by this tragic incident,” Petty said in the news release. “This incident impacts our entire community and we want to make sure we are thinking of everyone at this time.”

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