On the morning of December 6, 1984, 38-year-old Allen Leslie Kimery, a sergeant with the Missoula County Sheriff’s Office, was shot and killed while on duty. Shortly before 3:00 a.m. he stopped a black Chevy Monte Carlo in the 1200 block of West Broadway after it was suspected of leaving a Super America station on Brooks Street without paying for $11 of gasoline. The car had been stolen in Great Falls and the driver was later identified as Fred Van Dyke, who also used the alias Joshua Garrity.

As Sergeant Kimery approached the vehicle the driver fired a .357 caliber handgun, a single bullet striking Kimery in the chest. Kimery managed to return fire, discharging six shots and grazing Van Dyke’s shoulder, then staggered toward his patrol car and collapsed. He was taken to a hospital and died of his wounds. Van Dyke was apprehended and later sentenced to 20 years to life. Kimery, a nine-year veteran who had earned more than half a dozen commendations, was survived by his wife Jo and their two children, Kristina and Mathew.

Does anyone have memories of Sergeant Kimery or recollections of the department and community reaction in Missoula at the time?