MISSOULA - Multiple officer-involved shootings over the last few years landed in Missoula County District Court this week.
We continue our coverage of three coroner’s inquests where juries determine if the officers involved were criminally accountable.
A coroner’s jury on Friday decided there was no criminal act was involved in the death of 21-year-old Brendon T Galbreath.
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It was determined that Galbreath died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
"Dear Brendon, I miss your face, I miss squeezing you since you went away to school. Sometimes I think and pretend you're still away and find myself texting you, messaging you, snapping you, but you never reply,” Brendon’s brother Terrance Lafromboise said.
Following Friday’s coroner's inquest in Missoula County District Court Galbreath’s family gathered on the courthouse lawn.
Lafromboise addressed the crowd, and told MTN News he misses Brendon, "his heart was so big, and he shared it with everyone he came in contact with."
On the night of Aug. 12, 2021, a Missoula police officer initiated a traffic stop with Galbreath.
Galbreath led Missoula police on a high-speed chase through town, before crashing at Stephens and Orange Street.
Galbreath died in the incident. Autopsy results showed he shot himself and the official cause of death was suicide.
Missoula Police Officer Garrett Brown recalled the night saying he heard the gunshot, thought he was being shot at, and fired his gun.
The officer's bullet did not hit Galbreath.
"This was a worst-case scenario,” Brown said.
The 2021 incident sparked protests across Missoula, as supporters gathered and marched down Orange Street.
In court Friday, Deputy Missoula County Attorney Matt Jennings showed dashcam and bodycam footage, and crime scene photos.
Lafromboise says he wants to keep Brendon’s story alive, by bringing awareness to suicide prevention and police crisis intervention training.
"Going forward I think it's recognizing that we have a duty now, to uphold my brother's legacy,” Lafromboise said.
PREVIOUS REPORTING
12:34 p.m. - April 29, 2022
The jury in the coroner's inquest into the Aug. 12, 2021 death of Brendon Galbreath of Missoula has found his death was not caused by criminal means.
12:02 p.m. - April 29, 2022
Jury deliberations are now underway in the coroner's inquest into the Aug. 12, 2021 death of Brendon Galbreath of Missoula.
11:07 a.m. - April 29, 2011
Friday's inquest into the Aug. 12, 2021 death of Brendon Galbreath of Missoula continued with Aldo Fusaro — a medical examiner with the Montana Department of Justice — explaining the autopsy report.
Fusaro explained that the certified cause of death was a handgun wound to the head and that manner of death had been certified as a suicide.
Montana Department of Criminal Investigation (DCI) agent Edward Thomas “Tommy” Teniente then discussed the DCI findings in the case. Read the initial DCI news release here.
10:28 a.m. - April 29, 2021
Friday morning's inquest into the Aug. 12, 2021 death of Brendon Galbreath of Missoula continued with a showing of body-cam video footage of the incident which brought tears to the eyes of some in the courtroom.
Missoula Police Officer Garrett Brown had said that Galbreath appeared to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol, based on how he was driving. The driver can be heard repeatedly apologizing on the video for not using a blinker before the stop.
When a Missoula police officer asked how much the driver had to drink, he said he had not been drinking and that empty alcohol bottles seen in the backseat were from the previous day.
10 a.m. - April 29, 2021
MISSOULA - Friday morning's inquest into the Aug. 12, 2021 death of Brendon Galbreath of Missoula began with testimony from a Missoula Police Officer Garrett Brown, who said that Galbreath appeared to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol, based on how he was driving.
Brown said that after the vehicle stopped on Stephens Avenue near Beckwith Street, he saw the person in the car pull out a gun and heard it go off. The Missoula police officer said he thought he was being shot at, so he fired his gun. He then realized the driver was slumped over in the vehicle.
9:29 a.m. - April 29, 2021
A coroner’s inquest began Friday morning in connection with the August 2021 death of Brendon T. Galbreath of Missoula.
Galbreath died following a police pursuit on August 12, 2021, involving the Missoula Police Department that ended on Stephens Avenue near Beckwith Street where Galbreath fired a handgun. A police officer returned fire from his departmental handgun.
- RELATED: Rally held to support family of man who died during Missoula officer-involved shooting
- RELATED: Brother of man who died in Missoula officer-involved shooting discusses incident
- RELATED: Missoula mayor responds to death of Brendon Galbreath
Officers on the scene provided medical aid and called for EMS. Galbreath was taken to St. Patrick Hospital where he later passed away. Investigators said at the time it appeared Galbreath died by suicide but the family — and many others in Missoula — sought more information with a rally being held at Sacajawea Park.
A coroner's inquest is a formal inquiry around the causes and circumstances surrounding the death of a person.
