A man shot and killed by a Montana Highway Patrol trooper on Friday in Stillwater County has been identified as Charles Craig Meeks.
Meeks, 38 years old, was from Pinedale, Wyoming, according to the Montana Department of Justice.
DOJ spokesman John Barnes said in a news release on Monday that Meeks was reportedly throwing "flaming objects" from a car window prior to the confrontation.
Barnes said an MHP trooper, a Stillwater County Sheriff's deputy, and a Columbus police officer responded to the incident at around 6:30 p.m. Friday on the westbound lanes of Interstate 90.
The driver accelerated beyond the speed limit and was stopped at mile marker 403. He refused to cooperate, and the trooper fired one round from his department-issued shotgun, according to Barnes.
Barnes did not say whether Meeks was armed, and the names of the officers involved have not yet been released. All three are now on administrative leave, which is standard procedure.
No other details have been released at this point.
Agents with the DOJ Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) are continuing the investigation.
Once the investigation is complete, DCI will give the case file to the Stillwater County Attorney’s Office for review. The County Attorney and coroner will schedule an inquest pursuant to state law.
