BILLINGS — After a Billings police officer was seriously injured on the job Wednesday, police said officers are working in an increasingly dangerous environment.
According to the Billings police annual report, officers responded to 825 aggravated assaults, including 37 assaults on law enforcement in 2024
Watch full video here:
The statistic represents a significant increase, almost tripling the 13 assaults recorded in 2023, four times higher than the nine in 2022, and 15 more than in 2021.
“Those assaults, we're seeing our suspects obviously injure our officers when they're trying to be placed under arrest,” Lt. Samantha Puckett said in an interview with MTN News.
On Wednesday, Billings police received a report of a man who was armed with a knife, trespassing in a parking garage on North Broadway.
Related: Billings police officer injured in attack at downtown parking garage
Officer Hope Reid arrived and contacted the suspect to leave. The 28-year-old suspect, John Smells, violently attacked her, causing serious injuries.
“(The suspect) did have a knife on his person, um, but did not actually use it in the assault of the officer,” Lt. Samantha Puckett said Thursday.
At Smells' arraignment, Yellowstone County Attorney Scott Twito said surveillance showed that Smells pushed Reid down a flight of stairs, knocking her unconscious. The video then showed him grab her by the hair and smash her forehead into the concrete, Twito said. He then tried to wrestle away her gun, but she worked up and managed to fend him off.
“In this instance, it ended up being a little bit more significant injuries just due to the location of where the incident occurred,” Puckett said.
Smells was charged with two counts of felony assault on a peace officer. He pleaded not guilty.
Judge Jeanne Walker set his bond at $200,000 at his arraignment, noting the severity of the alleged crime and the presence of multiple fellow police officers in the courtroom.
“The circumstances are absolutely atrocious, egregious and deserving of a high bond,” Walker said.
Reid, a four-year veteran with the Billings Police Department, was transported to an area hospital, treated, and later released.
In April this year, Billings Police Department discussed violence against officers in its annual report.
"We are making arrests. People are obstructing, they're resisting, and they're assaulting our officers. And that's not acceptable,” Chief Rich St. John said in April.
Police training is playing a pivotal role in preparing officers for the unpredictable nature of their job.
“We train our officers several times a year on the different types of use of force and try to keep them as prepared as possible,” Puckett added.
Puckett added that their first step is always trying to de-escalate the situation verbally.
- MTN's Erik Olson contributed to this report.
