Four Officers Cleared In Gillette Shooting

courtesy Campbell County Sheriff, flickr

AP 6-1,2015

An investigation into the police shooting death of a 39-year-old woman has cleared four of the five officers involved to return to duty.

The Gillette News Record reports the probe concluded that one Campbell County Sheriff’s deputy fired the shot that killed Nikki Jo Burtsfield on May 22.

Five deputies had been placed on administrative leave. The county attorney’s office says four of the deputies can return to duty.

The shooting occurred on a rural road just east of Gillette after the Campbell County Sheriff’s Office received a call about someone trespassing at a coal mine.

Deputies chased a vehicle that ended when spike strips deflated its tires.

Authorities say Burtsfield exited the truck and brandished a knife. They say a stun gun did not stop her.