Incident At FMDH Results In Officer Involved Shooting

At approximately 2:35 p.m., on March 29, an incident occurred at Frances Mahon Deaconess Hospital (FMDH) involving a Valley County detention officer, sheriff deputies, a hospital employee and an inmate from the Valley County detention center, later identified as 47-year-old Jonathan Ryan Hamilton. Hamilton was originally arrested on a Blaine County arrest warrant in another state and was returned to Montana to face several criminal charges pertaining to child sexual assault.

According to Valley County Sheriff Tom Boyer, the incident was a hostage situation and resolved by a deputy discharging his duty weapon to protect the lives of others. Hamilton was flown to Billings for advanced trauma care where he later succumbed to his injuries. The names of others involved are being withheld during the investigation process.

During the incident, the entire FMDH facility was placed on a brief lockdown until the situation was resolved. The south wing parking lot, south wing entrance and south employee parking lot were closed immediately and stayed closed through the end of last week. Following the incident, all services in that portion of the facility were suspended, including physical therapy, occupational therapy, cardiac rehabilitation, patient accounting, health information and medical records and WIC. According to FMDH Director of Marketing Kyla Burns, all services have been restored and all entrances and parking lots are now open.

"We appreciate the quick response of law enforcement," stated a release from FMDH on March 29.

Throughout the past week, the public saw deputies from other Sheriff's Offices from around eastern Montana patrolling the community and stepping up to assist with ensuring the safety of all residents. According to Sheriff Boyer, "These incidents take a lot of people and there is a lot of work to do and nobody in the state has enough resources to get it all done. Montanans help their neighbors and Sheriffs look out for their communities and help each other." According to Sheriff Boyer, the Valley County Sheriff's Office has now returned to normal shifts.

To ensure the integrity of the investigation, while also protecting the privacy and rights of everyone involved and ensuring the continued protection of the community, the Sheriff's Office has requested an independent investigating agency, the Montana Department of Justice, Division of Criminal Investigation, who will collect evidence, interview witnesses and present a case file to the Valley County Attorney Dylan Jensen. At the same time, at the request of Sheriff Boyer, Phillips County Sheriff Jerry Lytle will complete the administrative review of the incident.

An independent coroner, the Yellowstone County Coroner's Office, will determine the cause and manner of death. In the case of death at the hands of or in the custody of law enforcement, the county attorney and the coroner have the option to hold a coroner's inquest. If an inquest is held, a jury of peers will hear the evidence presented by the County attorney and others to determine if the person died by criminal means or not.

In addition, a mental health evaluation will be conducted on the deputy to determine if they are fit for duty following the event, and the Sheriff's Office will conduct an after-action review to determine lessons learned and to make any changes to policy, procedure or equipment that may be applicable.

"The Sheriff's Office has control only of the policy review and timing of the mental health evaluation and has no power to influence how long the rest of the processes take or their outcomes," stated Sheriff Boyer in a release. The Sheriff's Office is asking for the community's patience during this process.

Sheriff Boyer is grateful for the assistance from the staff at FMDH for the prompt response and life saving measures provided, as well as the Glasgow Police Department for their support and assistance, the volunteers with the Fire Department, Bureau of Land Management Law Enforcement, Phillips County Sheriff's Office, EMS, Stat Air and the Valley County Sheriff's Office staff.

Further information will be provided on the incident as it becomes available.