Six officers shoot, kill fugitive outside Billings Clinic

Police had received a tip that the man, John Barry Marshall of Billings, was inside the hospital near the emergency room and pediatric unit, Billings Police Chief Rich St. John said Friday night. He was wanted by the U.S. Marshals Montana Violent Offender Task Force on a $10,000 burglary warrant.

Of the six officers, three are from the Billings Police Department, two are deputy U.S. marshals and one is a Yellowstone County sheriff's deputy. All have been put on administrative leave pending an investigation, which is standard procedure for an officer-involved shooting, St. John said.

Friday afternoon, U.S. Marshals task force members went to the hospital and communicated to medical workers that Marshall was inside, St. John said. Working together, the officers and hospital staff managed to direct Marshall outside at 2:50 p.m.; otherwise, he could have taken hostages or started shooting inside, St. John said.

“I give significant credit to the officers and clinic staff to come up with some sort of plan to get that person out of the hospital,” the chief said at a news conference at the Billings Police Department.

Marshall had a lengthy criminal history, St. John said.

Marshall left the hospital and was walking toward North 27th Street when he was approached by two officers in clearly marked uniforms, St. John said. Marshall fled and tripped on a curb in the parking lot after reaching for something in his belt, which is when the shot was fired into the ground-floor hospital window, St. John said. Officers did not know whether Marshall was trying to get off a shot or if it was accidental, he said.

A third officer approached Marshall on the ground and saw he was attempting to dislodge a jammed round and possibly fire again at police, St. John said. That officer began firing, and all six officers fired multiple shots at Marshall.

Police at the scene said Marshall had been taken in for surgery. St. John said he didn’t know when Marshall was pronounced dead.

The officers were warned he could be armed but had no confirmation of a weapon until the first shot was fired, St. John said.

After the shooting, crime scene tape blocked access for more than an hour to part of the U-shaped driveway that goes around the emergency department and the pediatrics department, and detectives were combing the area.

The emergency room remained open.

Billings Clinic officials said in a written statement that they are “grateful that no bystanders were physically harmed during this serious incident.”

The hospital remained open, and counselors were made available for employees or members of the public who saw the shooting, Billings Clinic officials said.

Friday’s incident was the third time in the past year that law enforcement officers killed a person in the line of duty. On April 14, 2014, Billings police officer Grant Morrison shot and killed Richard Ramirez during a traffic stop on Billings South Side. Ramirez was later found to be unarmed but was reaching into his pocket and ignored Morrison’s command to stop.

A coroner’s jury ruled Jan. 7 that Morrison was justified in the shooting.

On Jan. 8, Yellowstone County deputies Jason Robinson and Christopher Rudolph shot and killed Loren Simpson of Billings in an incident south of Huntley. Simpson was reportedly driving a stolen vehicle at the officers and did not heed their command to stop, according to police. An investigation is ongoing.

St. John said Friday’s shooting in front of the hospital underscores the dangers police officers face.

“This is what we’re starting to see in our society. Violence against police officers is getting increasingly (common.) Unfortunately, it ended in another tragedy,” he said.

The investigation is being handed over to the Montana’s Division of Criminal Investigation. Unlike others, this shooting involves multiple agencies and the investigation will likely be more complex, St. John said.