BUTTE — A 44-year-old Butte woman died Sunday after an armed confrontation with police in which police used a Taser to subdue her.
Butte Sheriff Ed Lester said the woman was armed with a knife in a residence in the 200 block of S. Jackson Street, when she approached a police officer before being shot with a Taser. Police then took the woman to St. James Healthcare, where she died later that day.
Police were called to the Jackson Street residence just before 9 a.m. Sunday for a report of an agitated woman inside the apartment. Responding officers found the woman armed with a knife inside the building, where she had broken out windows. Police say she threatened officers with the knife.
At one point, the woman put down the knife, and officers entered the building, according to the Sheriff. The woman then picked up the knife and moved toward an officer, refusing the officer’s orders to drop the knife, and that’s when the officer shot her with the Taser.
Police report the woman was taken to the hospital, where she remained in an "agitated" state. She later became unresponsive, and hospital staff were unable to revive her.
Officials have not yet released the woman's name.
An autopsy will be done on the victim by Montana State Crime Lab. The Montana Division of Criminal Investigation is assisting in the death investigation.
