In a tragic incident in Idaho, police body cameras and security footage, released on Thursday, reveal the fatal shooting of a knife-wielding teenage boy with intellectual disabilities by officers, sparking outrage over the incident. The videos showed that the police did not attempt to de-escalate the situation before using lethal force.
Victor Perez, a 17-year-old with autism, cerebral palsy, and non-verbal disabilities, succumbed to his injuries in a hospital a week after being shot. A neighbor had called 911 on April 5, reporting that Perez—described as intoxicated and armed with a knife—was chasing people in his fenced yard. His staggered walk was attributed to his disabilities.
Officers arrived to find Perez on the ground. Though repeatedly commanded to drop his weapon, Perez stood and began to approach them. Three officers discharged their firearms, while a fourth employed a bean-bag shotgun. The confrontation unfolded rapidly as shots were fired shortly after the officers exited their vehicles.
The city’s presentation of the footage included highlights, emphasizing that Perez, armed with a knife, moved toward officers from across a chain-link fence and was close to family members. However, there was no communication of his medical or mental health conditions to dispatch or the responding officers.
The manner in which the situation was handled has led to community outcry, with many questioning the lack of attempts to assess and de-escalate the scenario or use non-lethal measures. On Saturday, around 200 individuals gathered for a vigil outside the hospital where Perez passed away, while protests also took place outside Pocatello City Hall.
Pocatello’s Police Chief Roger Schei and Mayor Brian Blad have refrained from commenting on the matter, citing an ongoing investigation by the East Idaho Critical Incident Task Force. The identities of the officers involved have not been disclosed.
Law enforcement asserts that de-escalation tactics might not always be feasible if they perceive immediate threats. Nonetheless, policing experts critiqued the officers’ decision-making, noting the presence of the fence and the use of lethal force instead of Tasers. They pointed out that officers could have increased their distance to reduce potential danger.
Brad Andres, who filmed the event after his son called 911, likened the police’s actions to those of a “firing squad,” suggesting their aggressive approach instigated a reaction from Perez. He commented, “They never once asked, ‘What is the situation, how can we help?’ They ran up with their guns drawn, they triggered a mentally disabled person to react and when he reacted … they shot him.”