The aunt of an Idaho teenager who was shot nine times by police said the officers should have taken more time to assess the situation before they fired their weapons.
Victor Perez remained in critical condition at a hospital Thursday and has not regained consciousness since the shooting Saturday in Pocatello, his aunt Ana Vazquez said.
Perez, 17, who is autistic and has cerebral palsy, had taken a knife during a family barbecue and his sister was trying to get it away from him when a neighbor called police, Vazquez said.
“He called so the cops could help us,” she said, adding that the neighbor did not know Perez’s medical condition or that he was having a mental health crisis.
The shooting, captured on video, has sparked protests in the city of around 56,300.
“The police didn’t even ask what the situation was when they arrived,” Vazquez said. She said the officers brushed past other family members.
“They didn’t listen; they didn’t even hesitate to shoot,” Vazquez said. “They just shoot to kill.”
Mayor Brian Blad in a statement Thursday said that the shooting was tragic and that a thorough investigation is underway. He said his thoughts are with the Perez family.
The four officers were immediately placed on administrative leave, which is standard police policy, Blad said.
“We are addressing this matter with the seriousness and thoroughness it deserves and with the appropriate respect for the gravity of the situation,” he said. “The criminal, external and internal investigations regarding the officer-involved shooting are underway.”
Police Chief Roger Schei said that officers repeatedly ordered Perez to drop the knife and that Perez stood up and advanced toward them while holding the weapon.
The 911 call said it appeared someone was trying to stab another person with a knife.
“In this case, two individuals were within a few feet of an armed, non-compliant individual,” Schei said at a news conference Monday. “The risk was immediate, and the situation rapidly evolving.”
The teen’s aunt said that the family had hidden a knife but that Perez found and took it. Relatives were trying to get it from him, she said.
“The kid was not threatening us; he was not doing that,” she said. “We were trying to take the knife out of his hands.”
Video from an eyewitness captured the incident. The video posted to Facebook shows a person on the ground holding a knife in a yard. A woman is seen remonstrating with him, saying “no, no,” and trying to restrain him or grab the knife.
At the 2:44 mark, police arrive, and four armed officers begin shouting “Drop the knife” from behind the steel garden fence. Perez struggles to stand before he moves toward the officers, who open fire at 2:58, followed by the terrified screams of his family.
Perez is hooked up to machines at the hospital, Vazquez said.
“We’re devastated. Every day we go there, we talk to the kid, we check to if there’s improvement,” she said. “So we’re just waiting.”
The family, who are originally from the western part of Puerto Rico, said they have been surprised by the support from the Idaho community and are thankful.
“It’s an amazing community,” she said.
