Public commenter urges ban on firearm discharge at Daniels County cemetery after Memorial Day incident

During the public-comment period a Daniels County resident, John, recounted an incident at the county cemetery on Memorial Day in which he said a person in a pickup had a rifle protruding from the vehicle and fired a single shot while several people stood by a flag pole during a ceremony. He said he reported the incident to the sheriff’s office and requested a written police report; deputies told him they would prepare a report but he had not received it as of the meeting.

John asked the commissioners to urge the cemetery board to adopt a rule or resolution making it unlawful to discharge a firearm within cemetery property except for authorized exceptions (for example, military honor guards). He cited public-safety risks, the proximity of headstones and foot traffic, and the potential for ricochets to cause injury or damage to monuments.

Deputy Rex Morgan and others discussed whether Montana code provisions on public nuisance (internal reference at the meeting to "45-8" statutes) would apply; staff indicated that the public-nuisance statute may require demonstration that a considerable number of persons were endangered for a citation to be viable, and that a clearer local rule or cemetery resolution would help deputies enforce restrictions. The public commenter said he will present a draft resolution to the cemetery board and at the next meeting.