Officer and decedent identified in Cut Bank officer-involved shooting

CUT BANK – Cut Bank Police Chief Michael Schultz today identified the officer and decedent in the officer-involved shooting on Friday, October 6 in Cut Bank.

Cut Bank Police were dispatched to the home of Jeffrey Severn, 54, Friday afternoon for a report of Severn violating an order of protection. Severn was reported by witnesses to be violently entering the home which the order prohibited him from entering. When officers arrived, they encountered him starting to drive away and initiated a traffic stop. Severn exited his vehicle and confronted the officers with a rifle. He was subsequently shot and killed by Senior Patrolman Judd Milender, a 16-year veteran.

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.

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