Cut Bank Police Chief Michael Schultz on Tuesday identified the officer and decedent in the officer-involved shooting on Friday, Oct. 6 in Cut Bank.
According to a press release from the Montana Attorney General’s Office, whose Division of Criminal Investigation is handling the probe, police officers were dispatched last Friday to the home of Jeffrey Severn, 54, for a report of Severn violating an order of protection. Severn was reported by witnesses to be violently entering the home at the center of the order, which prohibited Severn from coming near it, the release states.
When officers arrived, they encountered Severn starting to drive away and initiated a traffic stop. Severn exited his vehicle and confronted the officers with a rifle, the release states. He was subsequently shot and killed by Senior Patrolman Judd Milender, a 16-year veteran, according to the release.
Milender remains on administrative leave per policy until the Cut Bank Police Department concludes its internal investigation. The Glacier County Attorney’s Office will schedule a coroner’s inquest once the Montana Division of Criminal Investigation report is complete. The coroner’s inquest is a public hearing where all facts of the case will be presented to a coroner’s jury for final determination.