Although he was convicted of felony criminal endangerment, Somers resident Christopher Cassidy and his attorney, Peter Leander, say there’s more to the story about what actually occurred on Feb. 9, 2013.

The Flathead County SWAT team responded that night to Cassidy’s Somers Road home as he fired off dozens of rounds outside. After failing to make contact to negotiate with Cassidy, law officers eventually used the armored Peacekeeper vehicle to get close before sending tear gas into the home.

Initial reports indicated Cassidy, 43, was firing wildly and eventually barricaded himself in the home, but Cassidy said he was never aware law enforcement was there and they were unable to contact him because he went to sleep.

A presentence document filed with Flathead District Court by Leander stated that Cassidy had been out with friends before coming home, sitting on his porch and firing guns toward a nearby waterfowl refuge and lake.

“What I was doing in Somers with my legally owned guns was maybe a bad decision at the time, but it was not illegal,” Cassidy said, noting specifically, “I was not firing in the direction of any houses.”

Cassidy said initial reports from law enforcement made it seem as though his house was in the middle of a residential area, which he said is not true. He said he actually fired 28 shots; the initial report indicated he fired between 80 and 100 rounds.

Further, he said that when law officers first arrived at the scene, they were “blacked out,” not using lights or sirens, not announcing themselves and staying hidden.

During that time, Cassidy said, he entered and exited his house several times and he was never approached by law enforcement.

“Why they didn’t attempt some contact with him earlier is the ongoing mystery,” Leander said. “Hours and hours they were there, and although he walked in and out of his house, it was not until he went back in and fell asleep that they tried to contact him.”

Leander said they tried to call his cellphone, which was not next to his bed.

“That he refused to respond to their attempts to communicate with him is a misrepresentation of the facts,” Leander said.

He said there were many opportunities for law enforcement to contact Cassidy, all of which were missed.

“Virtually every officer involved in this case was interviewed,” the document states. “Everyone insisted that Chris did not know that they were present, nor was he intentionally shooting in any person’s direction.”

Flathead County Sheriff Chuck Curry strongly disagreed with the description of the incident laid out in the document.

“We certainly did more than contact his cellphone,” Curry said, noting that after the phone contact failed, deputies used a public address system set up in front of the house before throwing a noise/flash diversionary device in front of the house, then shooting pepper spray into a bedroom twice with no response before finally putting tear gas into the main living area.

Cassidy exited five minutes later.

Cassidy did not dispute that deputies tried to contact him through the public address system or that the diversionary device was used, but said that he was in the guest bedroom on the opposite side of the house so it did not wake him up, and that the diversionary device was actually thrown into the main bedroom.

He also disagreed with the sheriff’s description of how much tear gas was used, claiming seven canisters were fired into the house and that he has plastic pieces from each of the canisters to prove it. He also said no one tried to call his house phone.

Curry defended the choice for law enforcement to approach the scene blacked out, saying it was standard procedure.

“It was done strictly for officer safety,” Curry said. “We usually don’t just go driving into somewhere where there are shots being fired.”

Leander’s document went on to explain Cassidy’s high level of community involvement as a firefighter with the Somers Volunteer Fire Department, responding to 79 calls in 2013, completing approximately 125 hours of training and serving as an instructor with the Northwest Fire Rescue Alliance.

Cassidy also is certified in ice rescues, has a Federal Emergency Management Agency certificate for incident command and is certified to fight fires in national parks.

Along with information about Cassidy’s certifications and community involvement, several letters of support were attached to the document, including letters from the president of Frontier Builders (where Cassidy works), a firefighter, the chief and assistant chief of the Somers Volunteer Fire Department, a battalion chief for the Bull Lake Fire District, and one of Cassidy’s neighbors.

“The public support for Chris has just been 100 percent,” Leander said. “They say he is a great neighbor, a great friend, and a great volunteer firefighter. He goes above and beyond to contribute to the community, and he has for years.”

Cassidy said his chief and assistant chief, along with two other Somers firefighters, were at the scene during the SWAT response telling law officers they didn’t have to do what they were doing.

Curry disputed that.

“I would call that inaccurate because I certainly spoke to them [at the scene] and they never indicated anything of that nature to me or us,” Curry said.

Despite the differing versions of what happened that night, Cassidy is ready to move on.

“It’s all unfortunate,” he said. “I want to get it behind me and pay my dues and get on with my life.”

Cassidy was given a three-year deferred sentence by District Judge David Ortley, who was following the recommendations of a plea agreement.

That means that the felony conviction can be struck from his record if he completes the three years without violating any terms of his sentence.

Reporter Jesse Davis may be reached at 758-4441 or by email at jdavis@dailyinterlake.com.