Hamilton Officer-Involved Shooting: Coroner’s Inquest Scheduled

Missoula, MT (KGVO-AM News) - A coroner’s inquest will be held on Monday in Hamilton after an officer-involved fatal shooting in Ravalli County.

I spoke with Ravalli County Attorney Bill Fulbright on Wednesday about the upcoming hearing in the Ravalli County Courthouse.

A Coroner's Inquest Will be Held After a Fatal Law Enforcement Shooting

“On April, 1 of 2024 there was an officer-involved shooting in which Hamilton Police Officer (Anthony) Hyett was put in a position where he had to shoot a 30-year-old man by the name of Zachary Athearn, and in accordance with Montana law that shooting has been investigated.”

Fulbright explained how the investigation into the fatal shooting was conducted.

The Incident was Conducted by the Department of Criminal Investigation

“The Department of Criminal Investigation from the state came in and did an independent investigation, and then, in Montana, we always hold a coroner's inquest, so the investigation is public and reviewed by a coroner's jury, so that there's nothing going on behind closed doors, it's all out in public, and the coroner's jury gets to evaluate the appropriateness of the shooting,” he said.

Fulbright explained why the investigation into the shooting is always carried out by an independent law enforcement agency.

“The investigation is done by another agency, so there's no bias that way,” he said.  “Then the inquest is presided over by a coroner from another jurisdiction. In this case, Granite County Sheriff and coroner Scott Dunkerson will be presiding over the inquest. I don't think I mentioned the inquest is going to take place Monday morning, at 9:00 a.m.”

READ MORE: Missoula News - Crime Reports

The Coroner's Inquest Will Be Held on Monday Morning in Hamilton

Fulbright pointed out that law enforcement officers use deadly force only as a last resort.

“That is a really good point,” he said. “It is something that no one looks forward to. Everyone trains for it, and everybody's prepared for it, but you hope to never have to do it. It is, as you say, devastating is a good word. It's devastating to them. You can see that here when an officer is put in a spot of having no choice but to deploy force and then no choice but to deploy deadly force, it's a very unfortunate situation to be placed in.”

The Coroner’s Inquest will be held at 9:00 a.m. on Monday at the Ravalli County Courthouse.