Recently filed court documents are shedding more light on an officer-involved shooting more than two months ago south of Libby.

In a phone interview with an ex-girlfriend of the man who was shot, Aaron Jeffrey Graham, she expressed concern that, “police went a little too far” and that they should have had a mental health specialist at the scene.

The shooting occurred March 4 at a camper parked on Libby Creek Road. Officers from the Libby Police Department, Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office and U.S. Border Patrol attempted to serve a search warrant on the property where Aaron Jeffrey Graham and his father, Jeffrey Graham, lived.

Aaron Jeffrey Graham, who Iaw enforcement suspected of multiple criminal acts, was subsequently shot during the incident, the court filing said. Charges have not been filed against Graham in relation to an allegation that he was using surveillance equipment to spy on the ex-girlfriend.

Libby chief of police Cody Ercanbrack was one of the officers involved in the incident. He, through Missoula attorney Lance P. Jasper, recently filed a petition to release confidential investigative and criminal justice information.

Ercanbrack is running for county sheriff on the Republican ticket against incumbent Darren Short and Marty Dunbar in the June 2 primary election. Troy police officer Ian Smith is running on the Libertarian ticket.

Ercanbrack was on paid administrative leave since the shooting, but he confirmed to The Western News that he returned to work Monday, May 18.

Jasper, who said he’s represented law enforcement officers for 25 years in shooting cases, voiced his frustration with the delay in Ercanbrack returning to work.

“On average, in an officer-involved shooting, they don’t string it out like this,” Jasper said. “It defies what is good for the officer, the department  and the city.” 

Results of the shooting investigation have not been made public and a Freedom of Information Act request by The Western News has not received any acknowledgment from Libby city officials.

But some details of the shooting were revealed in court filings by Ercanbrack.

According to the March 26 court filing, Jasper wrote that an attempt to obtain information from the Lincoln County Attorney’s Office was unsuccessful because of concern for releasing the aforementioned information.

Ercanbrack and Jasper were seeking records, reports, interviews, photos and investigative material from the Flathead County Attorney’s Office and any other agency involved in the officer involved shooting, including the state Department of Criminal Investigation (DCI), Libby police, as well as sheriff’s offices in Lincoln and Flathead counties.

Lincoln County Sheriff Darren Short initially sought the assistance of the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office to investigate the shooting.

But, in an April 7 filing in Lincoln County District Court by the Missoula law firm Boone Karlberg P.C., upon the behalf of the City of Libby, filed a separate petition to authorize the release of confidential criminal justice information. 

According to the request, both the Libby City Attorney’s Office, Lincoln County Attorney’s Office, as well as attorneys for Ercanbrack and Graham didn’t oppose the request.

A day later, on April 8, Lincoln County District Judge Matt Cuffe granted the request that any criminal justice agency was authorized to share with the Libby city officials information that related to the March 4 shooting incident involving officers from LPD and LCSO.

In his ruling Cuffe wrote that the demands of individual privacy do not clearly exceed the merits of public disclosure of the confidential criminal justice information in the matter.

Following the April 21 Libby City Council meeting, Mayor Hugh Taylor said city attorney Dean Chisholm had the results of the investigation done by the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office.

“I haven’t seen them myself, so we’re just waiting before we decide what to do next,” Taylor said.

May 23, Taylor said he had no comment on the matter.

An attempt to reach Chisholm was not successful.

Lincoln County Republican Party President Tony Wickham, who spoke at the April 21 meeting, wanted to see more urgency in resolving the situation.

“We need more of a sense of urgency in getting him (Ercanbrack) back on the job,” Wickham said. “We need his leadership.”

In the April 7 petition, attorneys for Graham, including the Whitefish firm of Viscomi, Gersh, Simpson and Joos, PLLP, and Missoula-based Siefert & Wagner PLLC, are considering civil litigation related to the March 4 shooting. Court records don’t indicate any suits have been filed yet.

Boone Karlberg has been retained to represent the city of Libby. Ercanbrack is being represented by Lance Jasper as well as the Kalispell firm of Hammer Quin & Shaw.

Ercanbrack first argued through Jasper that, “in order to properly carry out investigation of potential civil claims, petitioner, a victim, Chief of Libby Police Department and currently on leave pending review of the investigation, being on administrative leave causes a hardship on the Libby Police Department both with his absence and the department short of personnel, requests access to and permission to utilize the Lincoln County Attorney’s entire investigative materials.”

Jasper, arguing for the release of investigative information, cited Montana code that allows the “dissemination of confidential criminal justice information restricted to criminal justice agencies.”

He further argued that Ercanbrack is a victim of a crime, also the chief of police and needs to be able to return to work, and defend his actions. 

Ercanbrack’s court filing includes a background section that details some of the events just prior to and following the shooting.

According to the document, Ercanbrack knocked on the door and Aaron’s father, Jeffrey, answered. Ercanbrack asked both men to exit the camper, but Jeffrey said Aaron was not inside. 

Ercanbrack said he and other officers were there because of witness statements. He said he had a warrant to search the camper, but Jeffrey allegedly became irritated and told the officers to leave. He tried to close the door while Ercanbrack ordered him to secure a dog and come outside.

Jeffrey eventually left the camper and Ercanbrack said he heard Aaron yell that he had a gun. Officers drew their firearms and Aaron barricaded himself in the camper while threatening to shoot the officers. After a period of trying to deescalate the situation, officers were able to talk to Aaron and they learned he had a severe, self-inflicted laceration to his wrist which caused profuse bleeding.

When law officers tried to aid Aaron, he refused, saying he wanted to die and he would not go back to prison.

Following nearly an hour of negotiations, Aaron became irate and yelled at officers that he would shoot and kill them, according to the court filing. Shortly after, Aaron allegedly charged law enforcement and officers fired at him. 

Aaron was secured and removed from the camper due to concerns about toxic and possible flammable gas. Officers provided immediate medical attention to Aaron before Libby Volunteer Ambulance arrived and took him to Cabinet Peaks Medical Center where he was stabilized. He was later taken to Kalispell for more care.

Efforts by The Western News to speak to Aaron Graham and his father, Jeffrey Graham, were not successful.

Aaron Jeffrey Graham ran afoul of the law in 2025 when he was accused of intimidation and drug possession following an Aug. 14 incident.

According to the charging document, Libby police officer Vince Smart was called to the sheriff’s office to speak to a woman. The woman said Graham was her boyfriend and he was home alone with her children while he was allegedly “high on meth.” She told him she wanted to end their relationship and he reportedly got angry. He allegedly said he would take their son and drive his vehicle into a tree at a high rate of speed. He also said if she called the cops he would have a standoff, the court document said.

In further questioning by the officer, the woman said Graham was aggressive while disciplining the kids and she believes it was more than what would be considered appropriate. She also said the children said he is more violent when she is not home.

Officer Smart soon arrested Graham and searched him for weapons or a way to escape. He placed the items in a paper bag, including a black flashlight. Later, staff at the jail told Smart they found pills inside the flashlight. The pills were identified as Tizanidine and Clonazepam, both of which are available with a prescription. Clonazepam is a Schedule 4 controlled substance.

The alleged victim of Graham’s alleged crimes had also sought and received a temporary protection order against him on Aug. 14, 2025. She alleged he engaged in illegal substance abuse, made threats to harm himself and threatened to engage in a standoff with law enforcement.

The woman claimed Graham stole money from her while she was having their baby as well as the theft of two laptop computers and a game system belonging to her son. She also said he took her mother’s medication. The woman also said her mother set up surveillance cameras in the residence.

In the section about firearm ownership, she believed he didn’t possess any guns, saying she thought he sold his only pistol.

Then, on Aug. 22, 2025, the woman accused Graham of violating the protection order, according to a court filing alleging the offense. 

LPD officer Vincent Smart responded and the woman said Graham’s father, Jeffrey, called her on Aug. 21 and she could hear Aaron in the background telling his father what to say. She also said she received a phone call at about 3:30 a.m. the next morning from a number she recognized as Graham’s. 

Smart verified that the protection order was in place until Sept. 2, 2025.

But on Sept. 2, neither Graham nor the woman showed up for a court hearing to determine if the protection order would remain in effect.

According to a plea deal filed Jan. 15, 2026, Graham would plead guilty to dangerous drug possession in exchange for the dismissal of the intimidation plea. The sentencing recommendation called for a 3-year deferred sentence. A $5,000 fine would be suspended. On Feb. 2, Graham pleaded guilty to possession of dangerous drugs. His sentencing was set for March 30.

Then, on March 4, the day of the shooting, the woman filed an amended sworn petition for a temporary protection order against Graham. In it she sought protection for herself, her child and her mother. 

She wrote that Graham placed video and audio surveillance devices in her residence without her knowledge and she found them on March 1 or 2. She also claimed that Ercanbrack confirmed the devices in the residence on March 4. She alleged that Graham continued to send her threatening messages from a burner phone and a different number, preventing her from blocking him.

Ercanbrack confirmed that the search warrant he and other officers were serving was to determine what, if any, evidence existed that Graham was stalking the woman. 

The alleged victim also said Graham twisted her wrist and threatened to kill himself. She also said he stalked her and caused a great deal of financial turmoil by stealing from her. She said he stole a bank card belonging to her and spent $1,500. She asserted that Graham told her he would have nothing to live for if she left him. 

She claimed he had five keys to her residence on his key ring he copied without her knowing after she changed the locks to the residence.

Two days after the shooting, on March 6, the alleged victim sought a termination of the protection order. In it, she wrote that, “there is no longer a threat - hospitalization.”

In a recent phone conversation, the alleged victim told The Western News that, “I just wanted him to get help and get better. I’m concerned police went a little too far. They should have had a mental health specialist there.”

She also said the defendant had, “a horrible time after the death of his mother.”

Lincoln County officials confirmed Jill Graham died Dec. 31, 2024.

A motion was filed March 25 to continue Graham’s sentencing so a pre-sentence investigation could be completed and Judge Cuffe scheduled it for April 27.

But, on April 21, a motion was filed to continue sentencing because the pre-sentence investigation was not yet complete.

Graham’s attorney, Maury Solomon, wrote that “Graham was recovering in Kalispell from significant wounds and surgeries after being shot by police. His old phone was seized by police and Probation and Parole couldn’t reach Graham, but they now have his current phone number and a two-week continuance should be sufficient.”

Judge Cuffe’s April 23 order set Graham’s sentencing for May 18 and also approved a motion for the defendant to appear by Zoom.

Graham did appear May 18 via Zoom. Cuffe stuck with the terms of the plea deal and sentenced Graham to a 3-year deferred term. A fee of $850 for the public defender was waived and a $5,000 fine was suspended.

    Aaron Jeffrey Graham appeared via Zoom May 18, 2026, in Lincoln County District Court. (Paul Sievers/The Western News)
  

    Libby Police Chief Cody Ercanbrack. (Photo courtesy Jason Schikora)