Inquest Examines Officer-Related Shooting in Montana

RED LODGE, Mont. (AP) — A coroner's inquest in Carbon County is examining whether a Red Lodge police officer acted appropriately in the shooting death of a Billings man along the Beartooth Highway.

Thirty-five-year-old Timothy William Patrick was killed in October during a shootout with Assistant Police Chief Scott Cope.

Park County coroner Al Jenkins is presiding over Thursday's inquest. He says the proceedings are not a trial. But Jenkins adds that the recommendations of a seven-person jury will help prosecutors decide if any crime was committed.

Carbon County attorney Alex Nixon has said Patrick suffered multiple wounds, but also suggested Patrick may have killed himself.

Cope was placed on leave after Patrick's death, but has since returned to duty.