BILLINGS — Nearly two years after Vilene Not Afraid was shot and killed by a Yellowstone County sheriff's deputy following a police pursuit and a two-hour-long standoff, a citizen jury will decide if the shooting was justified.
Thursday was the first day of a coroner's inquest into the action of Deputy Christopher Etter, shedding light on the events of Saturday, March 25, 2023.
The incident started at 3:50 p.m. with a 911 call. The caller, identified as Not Afraid's partner by Billings Police Det. Hunter Cook during the inquest, claimed that Not Afraid had pointed a gun at her and stole her vehicle at a storage unit on Billings West End.
Shortly after the 10-minute 911 call, Billings Police Sgt. Eric Schnelbach located the vehicle being driven by Not Afraid and followed her until additional units arrived.
Once on Montana Avenue, Schnelbach attempted to make a traffic stop, but Not Afraid continued driving. She fled through downtown Billings and into the Heights before making a U-turn on Main Street to head south. Once at the intersection of Lake Elmo Drive and Main Street, Not Afraid collided with other vehicles. A driver of one of those cars chased Not Afraid's vehicle and attempted to stop her by running into her. This caused damage to the vehicle she was driving, but she continued onto Sixth Avenue North before losing control and crashing into a fence around the 700 to 800 block at approximately 4:11 p.m.
Officers believed she was armed because of the 911 call. When Not Afraid would not exit the vehicle, a standoff began.
Multiple Billings police officers tried to get her to leave the vehicle. Not Afraid continued to ask to speak on the phone with her brother, but he was incarcerated, and officers were not able to immediately get him on the phone.
Police said officers made repeated attempts to get Not Afraid to put both hands on the steering wheel, but she did not.
After over two hours of trying to get Not Afraid to exit the vehicle without her gun, the SWAT team threw spears containing toxic gas into the back window of the vehicle. The gas was described as CS gas, an extreme irritant to the eyes and nose.
Not Afraid left the vehicle at 6:24 p.m. with a gun in her right hand and a black purse in her left.
Etter fired four shots from inside the SWAT vehicle, causing Not Afraid to drop to the ground.
She later died at a local hospital.
The jury is expected to make a decision on Friday.
