Haakon County Officer-Involved Shooting Ruled Justified By Attorney General

PIERRE, (KCCR) — South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley says a South Dakota Highway Patrol trooper and two Cheyenne River Sioux Law Enforcement officers were justified in using lethal force to bring a hostage situation to an end in August. The incident began August 5th around 7:15 pm Mountain Time in Green Grass in Dewey County when Tribal Police attempted to pull over a vehicle driven by Shace Looking Horse. Looking Horse led officers on a pursuit south on state Highway 63 at speeds over 100 miles an hour into Haakon and Stanley Counties. The Haakon County Sheriff’s Office spiked the vehicle ,deflating two of the tires on Looking Horse’s vehicle at mile marker 17 on Highway 14. Looking Horse pulled in to a residence five mile north of Midland where he entered a home and took a woman hostage. He fired at Tribal officers at that location. He then kidnapped the woman at gunpoint and continued to flee, west on Highway 14 toward Phillp. Another spike strip flattened the left side wheels of that vehicle which stopped at a second residence 13 miles east of Philip. Looking Horse fired at least one shot that entered at trooper’s windshield. Holding the woman as a human shield, Looking Horse was killed with a rifle shot to the head by a Highway Patrol trooper. An autopsy found Looking Horse had marijuana, alcohol methamphetamine, fentanyl and other drugs in his system.