Coroner's inquest into fatal SWAT shooting set for May 11

By NANCY KIMBALL The Daily Inter Lake

A coroner's inquest into the March 26 shooting death of Rian Ross will be held May 11.

Ross, 46, died from a single gunshot fired by a deputy inside his Mountain Meadow Road home during a Flathead County sheriff's SWAT action.

Lincoln County Coroner Steve Schnackenberg will conduct the inquest, beginning at 9:30 a.m. in the Flathead County Justice Center.

Under Montana law, a coroner who is not a sworn law officer must conduct any inquest into a shooting by a law officer on duty. Schnackenberg is a civilian.

A jury pool of 12 registered voters will be called. Flathead County Deputy Attorney Dan Guzynski will question them and choose six to serve on the jury.

Guzynski will call witnesses to present evidence that came out of investigations by the Kalispell Police Department and the Sheriff's Office.

Unlike other jury trials, the jurors on May 11 will have an opportunity to question witnesses.

The SWAT team went to Ross' home on March 26 to serve an arrest warrant on Ross.

When met with "deadly force," Sheriff Mike Meehan said, a deputy fired and killed Ross.

The deputy who fired the fatal shot, Russ Papke, is a longtime law-enforcement veteran who has been with the Sheriff's Office about three years. He went on administrative leave immediately after the shooting, but now is back on active duty.