BILLINGS — A mandatory coroner's inquest has yet to be scheduled in the shooting of 45-year-old James Bennett, who was shot and killed by a Billings police officer nearly a year and a half ago.
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The incident occurred in May 2024 in downtown Billings, near the First Interstate Bank on North 31st Street. Witness video from the scene showed Bennett armed with a machete, surrounded by seven Billings Police Department officers. He is then shown falling to the ground after an initial taser deployment by Officer Zach Wallis. Seconds later, Bennett was shot five times at close range by Wallis.
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According to Yellowstone County Attorney Scott Twito, the case was investigated by the Montana Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation. He said the delay is not uncommon for these types of inquests, as typical timelines can take anywhere from 18 months to over two years, but it has been prolonged due to several factors, according to Twito.
“I'm trying to get that one scheduled, but there's been some complications, sort of some unforeseen complications," said Twito. "We had meetings with the DCI agents that were involved in that case, and since that time, some of those agents have left the agency and gone off and done other things, and so that sort of caused some delays."
Twito emphasized that a coroner’s inquest is mandatory when there is the death of a person under questionable circumstances, usually in police custody or during an encounter with law enforcement. The purpose of such an inquest is to present evidence to a jury, which can recommend what should happen with the case and whether charges should be filed. Coroners also have to be brought in from outside the county, but Twito plans to have the inquest scheduled within the next six months.
“We finally got some more information in just a few months ago," said Twito. "All those witnesses have to be available, and so that's just taking time to get that all scheduled, but my goal is to get it done within the next six months.”
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Still, Twito said the case remains active and has not been forgotten.
"We're trying to get away from the agency investigating its own, so to speak, and so we've been working on that, but it's just a resource thing," said Twito. "We have the information, we have the statements, we have all the things we need, we just got to get it scheduled.”
At the time of the shooting, Wallis was placed on leave. Twito confirmed that Wallis no longer works for the department.
