Montana Troopers Receive Award of Valor for Deadly Big Timber Shootout

A Nebraska fugitive who had planted an improvised bomb outside a prison just two days earlier died in a three-minute firefight with Montana Highway Patrol troopers in downtown Big Timber, six blocks from the town's high school. One year later, those two troopers stood at the state Capitol in Helena to receive the MHP's highest honor.

Attorney General Austin Knudsen presented the Award of Valor to Sergeant Barry Kilpela and Trooper Justin Knapp at a ceremony Wednesday at the state Capitol, recognizing the troopers' actions in locating a wanted Nebraska fugitive and shooting and killing him after he opened fire on them.

The Sweet Grass County Sheriff's Office confirmed the death of 27-year-old Breighton Miller near Big Timber. A warrant for his arrest had been issued after an apparent bomb was left in the Tecumseh State Correctional Institution's parking lot. On April 1, two employees at Tecumseh's prison spotted two propane tanks left near a truck in the parking lot around 10:30 a.m. One tank's valve had been opened, and a spent road flare was next to it. Miller had been an inmate at Tecumseh's prison after a first-degree sexual assault conviction in 2019, and was released in September 2024 on post-release supervision. When authorities issued the no-bond warrant, a family member reported Miller missing just before midnight, telling police he may have stolen a handgun.

On Friday, around 2:45 p.m., Miller's pickup was spotted near Big Timber, nearly 1,000 miles from Lincoln. Plate reader technology at the Laurel weigh station had flagged Miller entering Montana, triggering an alert to troopers already watching for him. Sergeant Kilpela located Miller's black Chevrolet Colorado and called for backup. Trooper Knapp arrived and attempted a traffic stop, but Miller fled. Kilpela attempted a precision immobilization technique to stop the vehicle. Though the initial PIT was not fully successful, it pushed Miller's truck into a vacant lot, where the two troopers repositioned their patrol vehicles to contain him. Miller immediately fired through his windshield at Knapp's patrol unit, striking the vehicle. Both troopers returned fire. The incident lasted roughly three minutes. Miller was shot dead at the corner of West Second and Quarry Street, six blocks from the high school in Big Timber. The shooting was the first law enforcement-involved shooting death in Big Timber in nearly 85 years.

Neither trooper was injured in the shooting. Both were placed on administrative leave per standard MHP policy, and the Montana Division of Criminal Investigation conducted a review of the officer-involved shooting as required by protocol. The award ceremony one year later signals that review concluded without adverse findings against either trooper.

"Without hesitation, they put themselves in harm's way to protect their fellow Montanans from a dangerous situation and stopped the encounter before it got even worse," Knudsen said Wednesday. MHP Colonel Kurt Sager described the troopers' actions as demonstrating "extraordinary bravery in the face of immediate and deadly danger," and noted their teamwork and professionalism.

To qualify for the Award of Valor, troopers must show an act of heroism and bravery, knowingly expose themselves to obvious life-threatening peril, or react to a situation without regard for personal safety to effect aid or rescue. It was last presented in the fall of 2025.

The Big Timber confrontation illustrates the speed at which a fugitive threat can cross state lines and land in a residential Montana street. Miller's warrant originated in Johnson County, Nebraska. Automated plate readers compressed the response window, putting Kilpela and Knapp in position to intercept him before he traveled further into the state. The Sweet Grass County Sheriff's Office assisted at the scene, and the coordination between Nebraska authorities, MHP dispatch, and Sweet Grass County deputies reflects the multi-agency framework that intercepted Miller within hours of him crossing the state line.