Deputy Involved In Fatal Weekend Shooting Over Horse

(AP) - A confrontation over a horse turned deadly when an off-duty northern Kentucky sheriff's deputy shot a woman wielding a weapon and threatening him, authorities said Tuesday.
Boone County sheriff's Deputy Scotty Hill was loading the horse onto a trailer in rural Nicholas County when 55-year-old Brenda Pollitt confronted him late Monday, according to Kentucky State Police.
Hill was buying the horse from Pollitt's nephew, said Nicholas County Sheriff Dick Garrett.
Earlier in the day, the nephew had been ordered by his aunt to move out of her house by midnight and to take his belongings - including the horse, said state police Lt. Bart Taylor.
Pollitt warned her nephew she would kill the horse if it wasn't offer her property by midnight, Garrett said. So the nephew contacted Hill, who arrived late Monday to pick up the animal, the sheriff said.
Pollitt showed up and declared that the horse wasn't going anywhere and pulled out a .22-caliber pistol, he said. Hill told her to put down the gun, but instead the incident escalated, the sheriff said.
"She said, `I'll just settle this now' and she brought the weapon up and thumb-cocked the weapon," Garrett said. Hill then drew his off-duty pistol and opened fire, Garrett said.
Pollitt was shot multiple times and died at the scene, said Nicholas County deputy coroner Kevin Hatchett.
No one else was injured, and the horse was unharmed.
Pollitt apparently didn't fire any shots, Taylor said. He said the investigation was continuing.
No charged have been filed.
At one point, Hill tried to defuse the confrontation by unloading the horse, Taylor said.
"We believe that he recognized ... if there was a misunderstanding between the woman and the nephew, he didn't need to be in the middle of that," Taylor said.
"And he attempted to remove himself from that by doing what she had demanded."
Pollitt continued her threats, however, and Hill, when "faced with a deadly threat, responded accordingly," Taylor said.
Hill, a five-year veteran of the Boone County sheriff's department, was placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the state police investigation, according to Boone County Sheriff Michael A. Helmig.
Taylor said that state police would turn over its findings to prosecutors, who will decide whether to present the case to a grand jury.
"We are investigating this as we would any other shooting incident, regardless of anyone's occupation," Taylor said. "There are no considerations given to that."
Investigators interviewed both Hill and the nephew, he said.
Taylor said he doesn't think Pollitt realized Hill was a sheriff's deputy.
Hill's wife and daughter had accompanied him to the farm to pick up the horse, Taylor said.