BILLINGS — Billings police and city prosecutors are calling for stiffer penalties in domestic-abuse cases, following the murder of Shawna Hart.
Hart, a Billings mother of five, was allegedly killed by her estranged husband, Tanner Grove, last week, who had a documented history of abuse. The case has sparked community outrage and frustration among police and prosecutors, who say their hands are tied by current laws.
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Grove was released from jail March 16 after spending five months behind bars for assaulting Hart. Just 13 days later, he allegedly violated a no-contact order and threatened two of her children with a gun.
Last week, Hart went missing before her body was found in a vehicle in Big Horn County with Grove being the last person she was seen with. Grove pleaded not guilty to charges of deliberate homicide on Tuesday afternoon with bond set for $3 million.
On Monday, frustrations boiled over at a Billings City Council meeting, which was packed with friends and family of Hart, along with other community members upset with what happened.
That frustration also exists with Billings prosecutors and police officers, who said Tuesday that they are often limited in what they can accomplish in domestic abuse cases.
"Seeing that this incident ended this way is horrible, it's tragic," Billings Police Domestic Violence Investigator Kristie Funk said. "This is why I'm in this position because I want to help our victims."
Funk and fellow Domestic Violence Investigator Katie Nash said they appreciated the community feedback at the city council meeting, with Nash stating that the department handles these cases the best they can.
"I'm glad so many members of the community felt like they were able to go to council and voice their opinions and concerns," Nash said. "In general, patrol officers take the initial report, and if they can see that a person is in danger somehow, I mean there's attempts to find them."
Nash and Funk work with eight other officers dedicated to these cases.
"We're constantly trying to be better and follow the policy and procedures of how to respond to the calls," Funk said.
Even when proper protocol is followed, Funk and Nash said there are limits. Deputy City Attorney Jenna Fiscus agreed.
"It's hard, because we are truly doing the best we can," Fiscus said. "These types of situations make it pretty difficult because we can't foresee that something like this would happen."
Fiscus said that domestic abuse cases are often misdemeanors, making it hard to keep offenders in custody, especially when bail is posted.
"Our hands are somewhat tied, where if they're able to post the bond, we can't do anything about it," Fiscus said.
Fiscus said she hopes that Hart's story helps lead to change, suggesting changes to state laws such as increasing bond amounts or establishing a domestic-violence offender list accessible to all.
"I think when something like this happens, it might trigger to (the) Legislature to perhaps have stricter laws to make it a bigger priority," Fiscus said.
Funk agreed that a policy change would make a major impact in these cases going forward.
"I really hope that the state can come down with some positive legislation that really helps protect our victims," Funk said.
