04-23-20 Police Dept. Press Release - Pursuit
POLICE DEPARTMENT
312 1st Ave East – PO Box 1997 – Kalispell, MT 59903
‘Striving to Exceed Expectations’
DOUG OVERMAN, CHIEF OF POLICE
Press Release
Thursday, April 23, 2020
On April 22, 2020 at approximately 10:30 PM the Kalispell Police Department responded to the
southwest side of Kalispell for a report of a disturbance with a weapon. Investigating Officers
arrived on scene and discovered a resident reported hearing a male randomly yelling from his
vehicle. The resident went outside and requested the male stop yelling as people were trying
to sleep. The resident reported a verbal exchange, stating the suspect male eventually got out
of the vehicle and pointed an AR type weapon at him. The suspect allegedly fired rounds in the
air and left the scene.
Kalispell Officers responded to the scene to investigate. During the course of investigating the
scene the suspect vehicle drove by again. Kalispell Police Officers initiated a traffic stop on the
suspect vehicle and it failed to yield. Due to the extreme concern for public safety, Kalispell
Police Officers pursued the vehicle. The suspect vehicle fled south on Highway 93 at high
speeds.
The pursuit continued south of Lakeside and into Lake County. A trooper from the Montana
Highway Patrol was able to successfully utilize stop sticks to disable the vehicle. A brief while
later the vehicle left the roadway coming to a stop. Verbal commands to the occupant were
not responded to.
Flathead County Sheriff’s Officers arrived briefly after the pursuit terminated. A Sheriff’s Deputy
was able to deploy a drone and inspect the vehicle further. It is believed the driver had taken
his own life. The driver was identified as a 22-year-old Kalispell resident, the male’s name is not
being released at this time pending family notification.
The death investigation is being conducted by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office in partnership
with the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office and a civilian coroner. The crash investigation is being
handled by the Montana Highway Patrol.