BISMARCK – The North Dakota Highway Patrol has identified the trooper who fatally shot a Montana man following a vehicle chase on Interstate 94 west of Mandan earlier this month.
The patrol said that Trooper Stephen Mayer killed the lone occupant of the vehicle, 45-year-old Craig Knutson, of Billings, Montana.
Authorities have said the pursuit on the evening of Sept. 7 began about 7 miles east of Hebron and ended after deputies placed spike strips on the highway and Mayer used his cruiser to push the fleeing vehicle’s rear end sideways, sending it into a spin.
After the vehicle stopped, Mayer saw that Knutson had a gun and told the three deputies at the scene about the weapon before he fired the fatal shot.
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