Community outraged after video shows Idaho police shoot disabled teen 9 times

POCATELLO, Idaho - An Idaho town is reeling after police officers opened fire on a nonverbal, physically disabled teen just seconds after exiting their patrol cars, leaving him in critical condition after he was shot nine times. 

The shooting happened Saturday afternoon in Pocatello, Idaho, where 17-year-old Victor Perez was wielding a kitchen knife and fighting with his family in their yard outside. Perez’s family says he is nonverbal, autistic, intellectually disabled, and also has cerebral palsy. His aunt, Ana Vazquez, told local news outlets that he has the brain of a 5-year-old and "can hardly walk."

What happened to Victor Perez?

What we know:

A neighbor, Brad Andres, saw Perez with the weapon when he had stepped outside of his nearby auto body shop. His son called police so they could help with the disturbance, he said. 

The 911 caller said the person on the ground appeared intoxicated and was periodically chasing a man and a woman in the yard. Vazquez said Perez walked with a staggering gait because of his disabilities; he was not intoxicated. 

"He looks like he fell on the ground and kind of passed out," the caller said.

Perez was still on the ground when police arrived at about 5:25 p.m. Four officers ran to the fence — three pulling out handguns and another pointing what appeared to be a shotgun. They ordered him to drop the knife. Instead, the boy stood up and began taking steps toward them with the knife in his hand, but there was a 4-foot chain-link fence separating Perez from the officers. The officers shot repeatedly, about 12 seconds after arriving on scene. 

Vazquez said the family had never called police for help with the boy in the past and that this was his first interaction with law enforcement. There is no indication the police were aware of the boy's conditions.

What we don't know:

 It’s unclear why police didn’t try to de-escalate the situation first – or use less lethal force to subdue Perez. 

The boy’s 16-year-old sister yelled to the police not to shoot and that he was "special," Vazquez said, but it’s unclear if the police heard any such comments, which were not apparent on the video.

The Pocatello Police Department did not respond to questions from The Associated Press about whether the officers were carrying Tasers or other less lethal options.

According to the department's policy manual, all uniformed officers who have been trained to use Tasers must carry them, as well as either a baton or pepper spray.

What they're saying:

Andres said the police "appeared to be like a death squad or a firing squad." 

"They never once asked, ‘What is the situation, how can we help?’" Andres said. "They ran up with their guns drawn, they triggered a mentally disabled person to react and when he reacted ... they shot him."

"He was having a really bad day with mental issues, but he wasn’t chasing anybody, and everybody could easily get out of the reach of his knife. So this wasn’t a really dangerous situation," Andres told KIFI. 

Dozens of protesters gathered outside the police department Sunday.

"The police barely spoke to anyone," Vazquez said. "They just said get back and they just, they shot to kill."

What's next:

Perez remained hospitalized in critical condition Tuesday after having his leg amputated, Vazquez said. Doctors were planning tests on his brain activity. According to a GoFundMe page set up to help Perez’s family, doctors have advised them "to prepare for the worst."

"We don't know if he's going to wake up," Vazquez said.  

The East Idaho Critical Incident Task Force and the Pocatello Police are investigating the shooting.

What you can do:

There’s a GoFundMe page, "Justice for Victor Perez," set up to help Perez and his family. 

"If there can be anything that could help bring this community together to do something positive from this, in the name and to honor the family that suffered, that’s what we should be working on," Andres told eastidahonews.com. "Let’s take that anger, and let’s funnel it into something positive that can prevent this from happening again."

What did police say? 

The other side:

In a video statement posted to the Pocatello Police Department’s Facebook page on Monday, Chief Roger Schei said he wanted to "provide clarity, share the information we can at this stage and address some misconceptions that have emerged."

"We understand the concern and emotion surrounding the officer-involved shooting that occurred," he said, adding, "We are also aware of the video circulating online, which shows only one angle. The full picture requires careful review of all facts and evidence."

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