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Great Falls man charged following chase

Great Falls man charged after chase
Posted at 1:54 PM, Oct 28, 2020
and last updated 2020-10-28 15:54:51-04

A man is facing several charges after he led officers on a brief car chase in Great Falls.

At about 11:20 p.m. on October 26, Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to the 5400 block of Lower River Road for a reported disturbance involving a man and a woman arguing outside of a business.

A Sheriff’s deputy found a vehicle matching the description provided, traveling east on Franklin Avenue; the vehicle was in reverse and did not have any headlights on.

The deputy activated her vehicle’s emergency lights to indicate to the driver to stop the vehicle.

The defendant - later identified as Aaron Michael Brogan - stuck his middle finger out of the window pointed and began driving even faster, still in reverse, and drove off of the road into the ditch at the intersection of Franklin Ave and 13th Street South.

He continued southbound on 13th Street and refused to stop. His vehicle then hit a mailbox on 13th Street in approximately the 5100 block.

Court documents state that Brogan “operated his motor vehicle in a reckless manner with willful disregard for the safety of other drivers on the roadway or property near the roadway by driving in both lanes backwards for an extended period of time.”

The deputy also noted a woman in the front passenger's seat of Brogan’s vehicle as they were southbound on 13th Street South.

When they reached the intersection 55th Avenue South, Brogan turned westbound while still accelerating at about 20 miles per hour. He failed to stop at the stop sign at the intersection and turned southbound on Eden Road. Near the intersection of Eden Park Road and Eden Road, Brogan came to a stop.

The deputy ordered Brogram to get out of the vehicle and each time she told him, he stated "No" loudly and flipped her off.

Two more deputies arrived; one of them moved to the passenger's side of the vehicle. Brogan then appeared to attempt to put the vehicle in drive and tried to accelerate the vehicle, but the vehicle was on ice and only moved a short distance.

A deputy instructed the woman to get out of the vehicle, which she did. The woman was later interviewed and said that Brogan’s actions caused her anxiety and she was not sure what was going to happen.

After several attempts to accelerate the vehicle, Brogan drove the vehicle backwards into the steep ditch on the west side of the road. As the vehicle went into the ditch, it crashed into a fence on the property.

After refusing several more times to get out of the vehicle, Brogan finally did, shouting obscenities at the deputies. He then pulled down his sweat-pants, exposing his genitals.

Deputies approached Brogan after realizing that he did not have any weapons in his hands; court documents allege that he refused orders to get on the ground and was “posturing aggressively,” so a deputy used a Taser, and Brogan then complied with orders to get on the ground.

Deputies tried to place handcuffs on Brogan, but he “used physical force” in an attempt to prevent it. As the deputies tried to lift him from the ground, Brogan turned toward a deputy and spit in the officer’s mouth.

The officers then confirmed with dispatchers that there were several warrants for Brogan’s arrest, and his driver’s license had been suspended.

When Brogan was in the back of the patrol car talking with deputies, he then “purposely caused his bodily fluid, namely mucus, to contact my patrol uniform by blowing aggressively out of his nose.”

The Cascade County Sheriff's Office on Wednesday asked for help identifying a driver who had to take action in order to avoid being hit by Brogan during the chase. The Sheriff's Office said in a Facebook post:

On Monday, October 26th at approximately 2330hrs, CCSO Deputies were involved in a vehicle pursuit. Around the intersection of 55th Avenue South and 13th Street, it appeared this white SUV encountered the suspect vehicle and took evasive maneuvers to avoid a possible crash. Although Deputies were able to end the pursuit and apprehend the suspect, they were unable to later locate and speak with the driver of the white SUV. If you are the driver of the white SUV or a witness/victim to this event, please contact Deputy Brandt Olsen at 406-454-7504, send us a PM or call Dispatch at 406-454-6978. We appreciate the publics' help in these matters.

Among the charges Brogan is facing are felony criminal endangerment and four felony counts of assault on a peace officer; and the following misdemeanors: disorderly conduct; reckless driving; fleeing from a peace officer; indecent exposure; two counts of assault with a bodily fluid; driving with a suspended license.

According to the Montana Department of Corrections, Brogan has a felony conviction in Cascade County for criminal endangerment.