Montana sheriff’s deputy cleared in shooting of suicidal man

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — A Montana sheriff's deputy who killed a suicidal man in February has been cleared.

The Independent Record reports that a Helena jury unanimously concluded Monday that Lewis and Clark County Deputy Andrew Blythe was justified in shooting Taylor Schnortz in his home.

A woman living with Schnortz said he was suffering a "psychotic break" and had been sending her photos of cuts he had made on his arm.

According to inquest testimony, Blythe and other deputies failed to persuade Schnortz to let them take him to the hospital but offered to have him talk to his father by phone. Before that could happen, Schnortz came around a corner holding a .44 caliber pistol in what Blythe believed to be a firing position. Blythe shot him eight times with an AR-15 rifle.