Investigators work at the scene of an officer-involved shooting at the Days Inn on Thursday, Oct. 27, 2016, in Billings, Mont. A police officer shot and killed a Wyoming man at the hotel early Thursday, Police Chief Rich St. John said. The man was in the hotel clerk's office with a handgun, refused orders to drop the weapon and was turning to face officers when Officer David Rashkow fired shots, hitting the man in the chest, St. John told reporters. (Casey Page/The Billings Gazette via AP)
Republished October 27, 2016 - 3:22 PM
Original Publication Date October 27, 2016 - 11:55 AM
BILLINGS, Mont. - The Latest on the fatal shooting of a Wyoming man by a police officer in the lobby of a hotel in Billings, Montana. (all times local):
4 p.m.
A police officer who fatally shot a Wyoming man in a Montana hotel was put on paid leave in 2012 following an internal complaint of excessive force.
Billings Police Captain Kevin Iffland said Thursday that an investigation found the complaint against Officer David Raschkow was unfounded. Raschkow was on leave for roughly three months.
Iffland says other previous complaints against Raschkow were found to be legitimate but none involved excessive force.
He declined to provide further details on any of the complaints.
Authorities say Raschkow shot an unidentified suspect three times in the chest Thursday after 25 minutes of negotiations failed to convince the man to drop a handgun.
It was the seventh fatal shooting by law enforcement in Montana's largest city since 2012. Five of the prior victims were determined to be high on methamphetamine. The sixth had just escaped from prison.
12:30 p.m.
The police chief of Montana's largest city says an outside law enforcement agency will investigate the fatal police shooting of a man in a hotel office after he turned toward officers with a gun.
It was the seventh fatal shooting by law enforcement since 2012 in Billings, which has about 110,000 people. All of the prior shootings were ruled justified.
Billings Police Chief Rich St. John says the Yellowstone County Sheriff's Office will lead the investigation into Thursday's shooting in the lobby of a Day's Inn hotel.
St. John says an outside investigation into the officer's actions was needed given the heightened attention for recent police shootings across the country.
Authorities say Officer David Raschkow shot the unidentified suspect three times in the chest after 25 minutes of negotiations failed to convince the suspect to drop his handgun.
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A police officer shot and killed a 32-year-old Wyoming man at a Billings hotel early Thursday.
Police Chief Rich St. John says the man was in the hotel clerk's office with a handgun, had refused orders to drop the weapon and was turning to face officers when Officer David Rashkow fired three shots, hitting the man in the chest.
No one else was injured. Rashkow was placed on paid administrative leave while the shooting is investigated.
St. John says the clerk called police at about 4 a.m. Thursday to report that an armed man was at the Days Inn making irrational statements.
St. John says when officers arrived the man was in the hotel office, where he could see the security camera feeds.
The man threatened to start shooting. St. John says efforts to negotiate with the man failed due to his unco-operative and erratic behaviour.
The man's name and hometown have not been released.
News from © The Associated Press, 2016