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Swan Shooting Tests Family’s ‘Right to Know’

By Beacon Staff

A Montana family says its efforts to obtain official information about a son’s shooting death in March have been repeatedly stymied by the Lake County Sheriff’s Department.

According to the victim’s sister, Debra West, the sheriff department refused to release investigation reports, the coroner’s report or any other case-related material without a district court order.

“The family just really would like to get those records and we’ve just been frustrated,” West said. “We just want assurance, regardless how my brother died, whether it was suicide or homicide. We don’t have anything.”

Kenneth Lee Miller, 45, died on March 13 from a gunshot wound to the head. The Lake County Sheriff’s Department ruled the incident a suicide five days later.

Miller’s family said they wanted copies of the sheriff’s reports to help them understand the case, but said those efforts were blocked by Lake County Sheriff Lucky Larson. They then hired Missoula attorney Joan Cook to help them request the reports. She wrote the department on May 11, asking for copies of the records.

The sheriff’s department responded four days later, denying the request for information based on Lake County Attorney Mitch Young’s recommendation. Sheriff Larson’s letter states the records would only be released with a district court order.

The conflict hinges on the county’s interpretation of “confidential criminal justice information.”

Montana law separates criminal justice information in two categories: public and confidential. Confidential information includes criminal investigative information, fingerprints, photographs and criminal intelligence information.

Defining information as either public or confidential can cause friction between a Montanan’s constitutional right to know and a right to privacy. Both are considered intrinsic for freedom, but there is not a distinct line between the two in a case like this.

Young said classifying information as confidential comes down to the discretion of the person disseminating it. He said there are penalties for releasing confidential information because it could violate privacy laws.

Miller’s parents, Leah and Clifford Miller, said they sent Young a handwritten letter in June. It asks Young to release the investigation information in the mail because they think they have a right to the information. The Beacon obtained a copy of the letter from the family.

Young said he did not receive the June letter or any others from the Miller family.

On Aug. 11, Lieutenant of the Criminal Investigations Division Mike Sargeant of the Lake County Sheriff’s Department said Larson had recently turned the investigation over to him. He said the department was actively trying to set up a meeting with the family to review the case information.

The reason the family did not initially receive the reports was because the sheriff’s office had to complete the investigation, Sargeant said, noting that he has been instructed to turn over investigation reports to the Millers after meeting with them.

“We had no intentions of keeping any information from the family,” Sargeant said.

The Millers have expressed concern that foul play was involved in their son’s death. Leah and Clifford Miller sent a letter to Attorney General Steve Bullock relating their suspicions about the suicide ruling and also accusing Lake County detectives of not investigating the case thoroughly enough.

Sargeant insisted their accusations were unfounded.

“We go into these (crime scenes) with a suspicious eye,” Sargeant said. “I have reviewed the documents, I have reviewed the crime scene photos and the post-mortem photos and everything is consistent with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.”

Lake County detectives pursued tips called in by valley residents up through last week, Sargeant said, but none had bearing on the suicide ruling.

Leah Miller said she received a phone call from a Lake County detective on Aug. 13 requesting a meeting in Polson to review the reports. Sargeant said the department prefers to go over the information with the family to help translate the dense reports.

“We’re going to make sure the family has the information that we have and hopefully have a meeting,” Sargeant said. “Most laypeople don’t understand what they’re seeing.”

Though there is not a uniform information procedure for all counties in Montana, Missoula County Sheriff Mike McMeekin said he thinks death is a personal issue and the immediate family should be kept informed.

McMeekin said his office had never required a family to drive to Missoula to get reports. However, he said he understands the importance of meeting a family in person and explaining reports.

Despite the recent contact, the Millers remain suspicious about the Lake County Sheriff’s Department’s motives.

“They didn’t even speak with us until we said we were going to take it to the media,” Leah Miller said. The case was originally reported by the Montana Policy Institute’s Michael Noyes.

The Millers said they had no direct contact with the Sheriff’s Department before Aug. 13. Leah Miller said her son-in-law from Hawaii acted as the family spokesman. Sargeant said the department turned over any information they had at the time to him when he visited.

“Typically in suicide cases there’s a lot of denial,” Sargeant said. “The family is usually right up on our desk.” He added that he has not seen Miller’s parents in Polson yet.

West said her parents have had a negative experience with the department and just wanted the information mailed to them.

“My parents are 85 and they would just rather have the record in writing instead of making the trip up there and meeting with someone,” West said.

Leah Miller said, at this point, she and her husband are planning on making the trip from Stevensville to Polson to get the records.