Patrolman Arthur D. Pettit

Arthur D. Pettit

Patrolman Pettit was accidentally shot by another officer's gun.

Patrolman Pettit was attaching a container to a fumigating device when another officer who was helping him bent down and his .38-caliber revolver slipped from his shoulder holster and hit the cement floor. The gun fired and Patrolman Pettit was hit by a bullet that passed through his stomach and liver. He was rushed to the hospital and doctors operated, but the wound proved fatal. He died the next day from the gunshot.

Patrolman Pettit had served with the Billings Police Department for 19 years. He was survived by his wife and three children,