Montague deputy is killed by officer

A police officer responding to a domestic disturbance at a Nocona residence early Monday fatally shot the off-duty Montague County sheriff’s deputy living there, officials said

The Nocona mayor told WFAA that Deputy Larry Hostetter pulled a gun on the police officer, who was not identified.

But Nocona police Chief Kent Holcomb and Montague County Sheriff Paul Cunningham declined to release information about the shooting, saying the incident will be investigated by Texas Rangers.

The officer was not injured and was placed on routine administrative leave, Holcomb said.

At a news conference Monday, Cunningham said Hostetter, 41, died at a hospital about an hour after the shooting. The disturbance call was made just after midnight Sunday.

Cunningham teared up as he spoke about Hostetter, who he says leaves behind three kids, WFAA reported.

“In a small department, you’re family,” Cunningham said. “Larry was a good person. He was one of our training officers. He enjoyed the job, loved the job, the job was everything to him. He was a good officer, very good officer.”

Hostetter had been a police officer since 2000 and a deputy since January 2013, Cunningham said.

It’s possible that Hostetter and the Nocona police officer knew each other because the police and sheriff’s departments are so small, with just over a dozen officers combined. Hostetter had worked for both agencies in his career.

Holcomb said this was the first officer-involved shooting in Nocona since he became police chief 15 years ago.

An official with the Texas Rangers said he couldn’t immediately remember another case in Texas where a law officer has had to shoot and kill another officer of the law, WFAA reported.

This story was originally published February 10, 2015 at 9:24 AM with the headline "Montague deputy is killed by officer."