Autistic, Nonverbal Teen Dies After Being Shot By Idaho Police

An autistic, nonverbal teenage boy who was shot repeatedly by police in Idaho from the other side of a chain-link fence while he was holding a knife died Saturday after being removed from life support. Victor Perez, 17, who also had cerebral palsy, had been in a coma since the April 5 shooting, and tests Friday showed that he had no brain activity. He had undergone several surgeries, with doctors removing nine bullets and amputating his leg, the Associated Press reports. Police in the southeast Idaho city of Pocatello responded to a 911 call reporting that an apparently intoxicated man with a knife was chasing someone in a yard. It turned out to be Perez, who was not intoxicated but walked with a staggered gait due to his disabilities, said his aunt, Ana Vazquez said. His family members had been trying to get the large kitchen knife away from him.

Video taken by a neighbor showed that Perez was lying in the yard after falling over when four officers arrived and rushed to the fence at the edge of the yard. They ordered Perez to drop the knife, but instead he stood and began stumbling toward them. Officers opened fire within about 12 seconds of getting out of their patrol cars and made no apparent effort to de-escalate the situation. “Everybody was trying to tell the police, no, no,” Vazquez said. “Those four officers didn’t care. They didn’t ask what was happening, what was the situation.” “How’s he going to jump the fence when he can barely walk?” she said. The shooting outraged Perez’s family and Pocatello residents. About 200 people attended a vigil Saturday morning outside the Pocatello hospital where he was treated. A crowd of protesters gathered outside the Pocatello City Hall building, which also houses the police department, on Saturday afternoon. Police snipers were stationed on a nearby rooftop, though no violence was reported. The officers were placed on administrative leave. Decisions about whether charges should be filed against them will be made after an independent investigation by the Eastern Idaho Critical Incident Team, said Bannock County Prosecutor Ian Johnson.