MISSOULA — On May 14, 2024, just south of Lolo on Highway 93, Missoula County Sheriff's Deputy Michael Baker hit an elderly man's vehicle.
Authorities say the man was not supposed to be driving due to a declining mental state.
Baker was seriously injured in the collision, and the elderly man died.
But it was speed, not the deadly crash, that was at the center of a court case this week in which Baker was found not guilty.
"I'm just relieved. This was pretty difficult for me, so this is about as good an outcome as I could hope for given everything that's happened," Baker said
Baker was headed to execute a search warrant on the border between Missoula and Ravalli counties.
He was driving with two other vehicles behind him — neither of which received a speeding ticket — without lights or sirens and traveling 84 mph in a 70 mph zone when the man failed to yield and turned onto the highway.
While the Montana Highway Patrol did not find Baker at fault for the crash — and video evidence showed it was unavoidable — the Missoula County Attorney’s Office said he warranted a speeding charge.
"A person died in an accident involving a law enforcement vehicle. And so certainly we wouldn't have charged it if there wasn't probable cause for speeding or another violation on the highways of Montana. But we're not going to second-guess the jury on that," said Matt Jennings, Missoula County attorney.
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In oral arguments, Jennings pointed to a 1955 law that allows law enforcement officers to speed if they have visual or audible signals, or both.
He argued that because neither signal was in use at the time of the crash, Baker should receive a speeding ticket.
The defense argued that Baker had to consider public safety, including those at the property where the search warrant was to be executed, and that using lights and sirens could have tipped off those individuals and created danger for officers.
The jury ultimately disagreed with the county attorney’s argument, finding Baker not guilty.
Questions remain about why the county attorney’s office pursued a trial over a speeding charge.
"In this case, unfortunately, it was the other person's cause. Why do you have to prosecute someone? So I don't know, there's going to be a lot of discussion, I think, for the public and what they expect out of the county attorney's office and public safety," said Lance Jasper, an attorney with LPJ Law who represented Baker.
MTN asked both Jennings and Jasper whether they expect the Legislature to address the wording of the 1955 law.
Jasper said he hopes lawmakers will revisit it.
Jennings did not directly answer the question, but said he respects the jury’s decision and that his office would not have brought charges without probable cause.
