BILLINGS — Family and friends of Julian Wolf — the 28-year-old that was struck and killed by a vehicleevading Yellowstone County sheriff's deputies Monday night — spoke out Wednesday about the circumstances surrounding his death.
Wolf was traveling on Fourth Avenue North near downtown, when the suspect, Jimmy Joe Flanagan, ran a stop sign on North 20th Street and collided with Wolf. According to Sheriff Mike Linder, Wolf was thrown from his bike and pronounced dead on the scene.
A small memorial has been set up near the site of the crash and on Wednesday, friends and family of Wolf gathered to pay their respects.
"He was genuinely one of the best people I've ever met," said Wolf's girlfriend Trinity Jones between tears. "I really think if you ask anyone who knew him, they'd agree."
"He was a real good dude," said Wolf's friend Richard Russiff. "He was a great leader."
All who gathered on Wednesday had nothing but great things to say about Wolf.
"If you got to know him, you were gravitated to him instantly," said Wolf's friend Daniel Martin. "He was very charismatic, very loving and a very caring person."
"He was trustworthy, loyal and independent," said Wolf's friend Erik Groblebe. "He had his life put together and a lot of things going for him."
But of all those who spoke with MTN Wednesday, none knew Wolf better than his younger brother Zane McCracken.
"I feel empty," McCracken said. "I feel lost. I'm sad. I'm angry. He was like a father to me."
Wolf's girlfriend Trinity Jones added that hearing about his death felt like a nightmare.
"When someone you love is just gone, that's not really something you can put into words," Jones said. "It's just really unfair."
Linder identified the deputies involved in the chase Wednesday afternoon as Wesley Brutlag and Dylan Council. While Linder said he feels for those who knew Wolf, he defended his deputies' decision to pursue.
"We're in law enforcement," Linder said. "It's our job to stop these people."
Linder said that their policy of pursuit is left up to the deputies involved to weigh the importance of apprehending that specific suspect. He said each case is treated differently.
"It's a judgment call," Linder said. "In this case, there was information that this person needed to be stopped and that's why they continued with the pursuit."
That policy differs from the Billings police, who told MTN Tuesday that they use something called restrictive pursuit — only chasing a suspect when certain high-value criteria are met.
Wolf's loved ones don't agree with the sheriff's office policy.
"They should've realized that that was a danger to everyone else on the road at that time," Jones said. "And they should be thanking God that nobody else got hurt."
"I understand they need to catch the guy, but what they did was completely wrong," McCracken said. "They completely wronged my family, completely wronged the public by endangering them. It was a truck with a trailer for crissake."
These are all emotions Linder said he understands, and he's devastated for the family and their loss.
"There's not a good explanation to try and justify what happened to their loved one," Linder said.
