Two Bozeman Police officers fired their rifles after a three hour parking lot standoff with an armed woman, resulting in the death of 29-year-old female Rick Alastor Newman of Bozeman.
Police initially responded to a call about a woman threatening her mother with a handgun at a residence on the west side of town. Bozeman Police Chief Jim Veltkamp said at a press conference Friday morning, the woman was located two hours later at a near-by shopping center parking lot still yielding a weapon.
“My understanding there were some mental health issues, and certainly some increasing mental health issues that led to the suicidal and homicidal threats towards specific people” Veltkamp said.
Chief Veltkamp said trained crisis negotiators were on the scene for nearly three hours communicating with Newman.
“At about 1:45 a.m. the female set the firearm down and briefly indicated she was giving up by moving away from it she then ran back up to it and grabbed it again raising it up an emotion that concerned the officers” Veltkamp said.
An internal investigation and a Montana division of criminal investigation are both looking into the officer involved shooting.
All officers who fired weapons, including non-lethal, have been placed on administrative leave during the investigations. This includes 4 Bozeman police officers and one member of the sheriff’s department. Veltkamp says there are a number of videos from both police officers and vehicles that are under review.
