BELGRADE — The officer-involved shooting from Monday night is just one of several that have taken place over the years here in Gallatin County. Which raises the question - just how dangerous really IS a day in the office for law enforcement?
“I have been in situations where—yes—I have been shot at,” said Dan Springer, who has served with the Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office for 29 years.
Springer knows the risks of wearing the badge. In his time?
“There has probably been about 10 or 12 officer-involved shootings, and of those, about five where an officer has been injured,” he said.
Sheriff Dan Springer opens up about the dangers of law enforcement work in Gallatin County
Springer recalled 2 deadly incidents.
“David was killed out in Three Forks. He was a highway patrolman,” Springer recalled.
In 2010, 23-year-old Montana Highway Patrol Trooper David DeLaittre stopped to investigate a pickup truck that was idling in the road. The stop led to a shootout in which DeLaittre was shot and killed.
Father, friends of Montana Highway Patrol Trooper David DeLaittre pay tribute at his Three Forks memorial
“You know, Mason had a history here in Gallatin County,” Springer said.
In 2017, Broadwater County Sheriff’s Deputy Mason Moore was killed after initiating a traffic stop.
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On Monday night in Belgrade, another officer was shot in the line of duty. That officer is in stable condition, but that’s not always the case.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, in 2023, 378 law enforcement officers nationwide were shot in the line of duty. Forty-six of those shootings were fatal.
“When we look at what law enforcement does, we know it’s a possibility to get into a shooting at any time. It’s one of those things we understand is part of the job,” Springer said.
During Monday night’s incident, the suspect involved was killed. Such events are not uncommon in Montana. According to the governor’s office, from 2019 to 2023, there were 79 law-enforcement-involved fatal encounters in the state. Eighty-five percent of those deaths were caused by firearms.
Gallatin County has also seen two deadly incidents in recent years. In 2023, 39-year-old Michael Rogel was shot and killed in his car by Bozeman police officers. In October 2024, 29-year-old Rick Alastor Newman was killed by law enforcement in the parking lot of a shopping complex in Bozeman.
“These kinds of things may occur. We don’t want them to happen. No one goes on shift with the intent of shooting someone that day. But we also know that if those things are aimed at us, then they’re not being aimed at someone in the general public,” Springer said.
Never knowing when you may take a life—or when yours may be at stake—takes a toll, Springer said. That’s why he believes ample training and adequate resources for law enforcement agencies are critical.
“Our job is to keep the peace,” he said. “Sometimes that’s us putting ourselves in the line of danger, and we recognize that. But if that means we are able to save someone and we can stop the threat, that is our job.”
Officer-involved shooting in Belgrade leaves neighborhood shaken, one suspect dead
