Suicide of Terry Rossland

On December 20, 1989, Terry Rossland, a man with a history of mental illness, loaded his 1982 Dodge Colt Hatchback full of gasoline and pipe bombs with the intention of committing suicide. Rossland was depressed over his pending divorce with his wife and was despondent over the marital problems he was facing. Earlier that same day, his wife had obtained a restraining order to keep him away from her and their 15-year-old son.[3] Rossland had also recently lost his job and was unstable due to the amount of painkillers he had taken. He attracted the attention of authorities by robbing an Osco Drug store pharmacy of diazepam and codeine, in the Butte Plaza on Harrison Avenue.[4] He then led police on a thirty-minute chase at slow speed. He drove to an Uptown street in Butte, Montana, where police cordoned off his vehicle. When police surrounded his car, Rossland revealed it was loaded with pipe bombs and gasoline. Rossland demanded to speak to his wife and children, and threatened to take his own life if his demands were not met. Police locked down the entire area and a standoff began. As it was five days before Christmas, the area was packed with people Christmas shopping. Bystanders watched the event unfold and began filming the incident. Sheriff Bob Butorovich, Lieutenant Bob Lee and Sergeant Dan Hollis, all of whom had known Rossland for years and were friends with him, approached his car and began negotiating with him. Butorovich spoke with Rossland while Lee deflated one of Rossland's tires to stop him from fleeing. Forty-five minutes passed and after repeated attempts to get Rossland to surrender, Rossland finally detonated the pipe bombs and the car exploded. Butorovich and Lee were both standing directly next to the car as it exploded. They managed to escape with only minor injuries.[5] After the explosion, Rossland managed to survive as well, but he was set ablaze and was in excruciating pain. He opened his car door and fled on foot while still on fire. Fire crews rushed to Rossland's aid and put out the fire. The fire in Rossland's vehicle then spread to the back of his car and caused the remaining pipe bombs to explode. Rossland received emergency medical care and survived the suicide attempt despite over seventy percent of his body being burned.[6]

Rossland was flown to a specialist burn unit several states away and went through months of intensive care. Rossland spent more than three months in the burn unit at the University of Utah's medical center in Salt Lake City.[3] While there, he underwent skin-graft surgery at least three times. Rossland was later transferred to the Galen campus of Montana State Hospital.[4] Afterward, he was extradited back to Butte to stand trial for his crime. Butorovich personally escorted Rossland back through the airport when he returned.[6]

Rossland was due to face trial in late 1990. He faced numerous criminal charges, including attempted deliberate homicide. However, before his trial even began, Rossland took his own life by a drug overdose.[1] He was on leave from a physical rehab facility and took his life at his home in Butte on October 9, 1990. He reportedly called Hollis on the phone who told him he could not speak to him due to the upcoming trial, to which Rossland replied, "This is not going to trial." Police were called to his home shortly after and found Rossland dead. He had taken numerous pills and had died from an overdose.[1] He was found dead inside a shed behind his house and had been wearing headphones. He was 38 years old at the time of his death.[7]

Lieutenant Bob Lee, one of the police officers who had negotiated with Rossland, died on December 6, 2013, at the age of 68.[8] Sheriff Robert Butorovich died on August 17, 2020, at the age of 87.[9]

The footage of Rossland exploding his car and attempting suicide has been shown on many television programs relating to crime and extraordinary events caught on camera. It has been shown on: Reality TV, World's Wildest Police Videos (Season 3, Episode 9),[6] World's Most Amazing Videos,[10] World's Most Dangerous Police Videos,[11] the History Channel, Shockwave, the 1993 shockumentary film, Traces of Death, and the 1998 shockumentary film, Banned from Television.[12] It was also shown widely on the news at the time of the event.[13]