North Dakota deputy fatally shot during shootout, suspect dead

A 29-year-old sheriff's deputy was killed late Wednesday in a shootout in northern North Dakota with a suspected car thief, who also died, according to the Rolette County Sheriff's Office.

Deputy Colt Allery, who had been with the Sheriff's Office for three months, died at a rural intersection along with the suspect, whose name has not been released.

The male suspect, who was in a stolen pickup, led four law enforcement officers on a 15-mile chase during which speeds reached 85 miles per hour after a vehicle was reported stolen in Devil's Lake about 6:10 p.m. Wednesday.

Operators of an OnStar vehicle tracking system told law enforcement that the pickup was headed into neighboring Rolette County, according to the Sheriff's Office. OnStar trackers slowed the vehicle down to approximately 5 miles an hour. A shootout then began when officers caught up to it at an intersection near Belcourt, a town near the Canadian border about 240 miles northwest of Fargo.

Three other law enforcement officers involved in the shootout were unharmed. All were placed on standard administrative leave.

Allery had been a law enforcement officer for approximately three years. He previously worked for the city of Rolette Police Department and the Turtle Mountain Tribal Police Department.

Rolette County Sheriff Gerald Medrud described Allery as "cheerful and happy all the time."

According to the Associated Press, Allery is the 57th law enforcement officer in North Dakota to be killed in the line of duty, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page, a national nonprofit group that keeps records of fallen officers.

The state Bureau of Criminal Investigation is conducting an inquiry.