An autistic teenager with cerebral palsy, armed with a knife, has been left in critical condition after being shot nine times by Idaho police officers, prompting public outrage.
Victor Perez, a 17-year-old boy described by his family as nonverbal, autistic and intellectually disabled, was gunned down by police from behind a chain-link fence just seconds after officers exited their vehicles on Saturday.
Doctors removed nine bullets from Perez’s body and amputated his left leg. He now remains on a ventilator in ‘critical condition’ after being revived twice, Idaho News 6 reported.
‘The police barely spoke to anyone,’ Ana Vazquez, the boy’s aunt, told The Associated Press.
‘They just said get back and they just… they shot to kill.’
At around 5:20pm on Saturday afternoon, Brad Andres, a resident who owns a nearby autobody shop, stepped outside to take a call when he and his 19-year-old son, Bridger, noticed a disturbance at the Perez residence.
Andres didn’t think too much of the scene at first, initially believing it was family members ‘play knife fighting’ in a neighbor’s backyard.
‘Nobody was really scared of the guy with the knife,’ Andres told East Idaho News.
Victor Perez (pictured), a 17-year-old autistic and non-verbal boy with cerebral palsy, armed with a knife, was left in critical condition after being shot nine times by Idaho police officers just seconds after they exited their vehicles
In the disturbing video footage, Perez was seen lying on the ground, barely moving, as four officers rushed towards the chain-link fence surrounding the home – three pulling out handguns and another pointing what appeared to be a shotgun
However, Andres realized something was wrong when he saw Perez ‘swing’ the knife at a man and woman, who appeared to be trying to disarm the teenager. Believing it may be a domestic dispute, he and his son called 911.
In the call, they said that what they believed to be an intoxicated man – the teen – was wielding a kitchen knife and periodically chasing a man and woman in the yard.
‘He seems pretty drunk,’ the caller told the dispatcher, adding that the people in the yard were not speaking English.
‘He’s just running at them with a knife and then falling over. I think he just stabbed himself actually. He looks like he fell on the ground and kind of passed out.’
Perez was still on the ground when Pocatello Police Department patrol cars pulled up to the home at around 5:25 pm. Andres decided to record the incident – and the video has since sparked massive infuriation online and in the local community.
‘We don’t know how to handle this. We’ve never seen a video that is so extreme,’ Andres told East Idaho News.
‘It’s the most graphic video I’ve ever seen of police abuse ever,’ he added. ‘I mean, there’s no excuse for it.’
In the footage, Perez was seen lying on the ground, barely moving, as four officers rushed toward the chain-link fence surrounding the home – three pulling out handguns and another pointing what appeared to be a shotgun.
Doctors removed nine bullets from Perez’s body and amputated his left leg. He now remains in a coma on a ventilator in ‘critical condition’ after dying twice and being revived (pictured: Perez)
Brad Andres, a neighbor who took the video, said that Perez never lunged with the knife at anyone in his yard – just more so swung the weapon around as a way to keep others away, describing that ‘nobody was in immediate danger’
The man in the yard made a hand motion to officers, one described by Andres as trying to convey the general message: ‘We’re over here, don’t panic, this isn’t a big deal’. The woman began yelling ‘No! No!’ with her hands up, he explained, but the cops ignored her pleas.
When officers demanded Perez drop the weapon, the teen instead stood up and began stepping toward them with the knife still in his grasp.
‘He saw everybody pointing guns at him, so he stood up and pointed the knife towards the officers,’ Andres told East Idaho News. ‘After the officers saw this, they all unloaded.’
From there, all hell broke loose. Officers began repeatedly firing at Perez, with audio from the disturbing footage capturing nine continuous gunshots.
‘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.’
Andres explained that the police ‘appeared to be like a death squad or firing squad,’ rather than officers trying to de-escalate a situation.
‘You can see that the kid, after he was shot, wounded and down on the ground in pain, suffering from the shots, they continued to shoot at him,’ Andres told East Idaho News.
‘It looked sketchy. There’s a knife, there’s things in danger, so my son made the correct call to call 911 with the goal of helping his neighbor with this situation.’
When officers demanded Perez drop the weapon, the teen instead stood up and began stepping towards them with the knife still in his grasp, prompting officers to repeatedly fire at the teen
Dozens of protestors gathered outside the Pocatello Police Department Sunday afternoon carrying signs that read: ‘Bloody Hands, Dirty Cowards’, ‘Do Better PPD’, ‘Hold PPD accountable’ and ‘What are Tasers for?’ (pictured: Perez)
‘Dispatch may have exaggerated something, because this wasn’t a knife fight. Nobody would have been stabbed. Nobody was in immediate danger,’ he added, noting how Perez never lunged at anyone, but more so swung the knife around as a way to keep others away.
After life-saving measures were taken at the scene, Perez was taken to Portneuf Medical Center where he has since undergone three surgeries, one being the amputation of his leg, according to Idaho News 6.
The 17-year-old boy is currently in a coma and hooked up to a ventilator. Doctors worked to test his brain function, but he already had to be revived twice while in their care.
‘We don’t know if he’s going to wake up,’ Vazquez said.
Videos of Saturday’s shooting have since circulated around social media, enraging the boy’s family, neighbors and the internet as to why officers opened fire within about 12 seconds of exiting their cars – all while making no apparent effort to de-escalate the situation or use less lethal weapons.
‘He had the brain of a little kid about five years old,’ Vazquez told 7 News, noting how despite his difficulties, her nephew can still be calmed down.
‘I know the position of the police, but only one can at least stop him,’ she added. ‘You have to shoot? Nine bullets… they took nine bullets out of that kid.’
Seth Stoughton, a former police officer who teaches at the University of South Carolina Law School, also had questions about the video, as he wondered why officers failed to use the basic tactic of backing up to create space between them and Perez.
Videos of Saturday’s shooting have since circulated around social media, enraging hundreds of people, including Ana Vazquez, the boy’s aunt (pictured), who described that the police just ‘shot to kill’
Hundreds are left wondering why officers opened fire within about 12 seconds of exiting their cars – all while making no apparent effort to de-escalate the situation
‘It does not appear to me that any officer is in immediate danger at the point where they begin shooting,’ Stoughton said.
‘If he had made it over the fence and officers backed up and he continued to approach… then that could change.’
Thousands of furious users have since flooded social media, expressing their disgust and labeling the shooting as nothing short of murder.
One comment read: ‘There is a fence between him and the police. Why would they think their lives were in danger when they could have used a taser? That is murder.’
‘Just horrifying,’ said another. ‘Calling the police on an autistic child experiencing a mental health crisis is too often a death sentence.’
‘There is a physical barrier between the suspect and the officers and not one of them thought maybe a taser would be worth a try before just opening fire? Disgusting, I hope they all face heavy disciplinary action,’ a third added.
Dozens of protestors gathered outside the Pocatello Police Department Sunday afternoon carrying signs that read: ‘Bloody Hands, Dirty Cowards’, ‘Do Better PPD’, ‘Hold PPD accountable’ and ‘What are Tasers for?’, according to East Idaho News.
Chief Roger Schei released a statement to the police department’s Facebook page on Monday, stating that he wanted to ‘provide clarity, share the information we can at this stage and address some misconceptions that have emerged.’
Eastern Idaho Critical Incident Task Force is now conducting an investigation, along with the Bannock County Sheriff’s Office and the Idaho State Police
Chief Roger Schei (pictured) released a statement to the police department’s Facebook page on Monday, defending the actions of his officers as ‘the risk was immediate and the situation was rapidly evolving’
‘We understand the concern and emotion surrounding the officer-involved shooting that occurred,’ he said in the statement.
‘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.’
Schei said he would not answer any questions surrounding the shooting because the Eastern Idaho Critical Incident Task Force is conducting an investigation, along with the Bannock County Sheriff’s Office and the Idaho State Police, 6 News reported.
In the statement, however, the chief doubled down and defended his officers actions.
‘In situations like this, officers must make decisions in seconds,’ he said. ‘They assess threats not just to themselves but to those nearby.’
‘In this case, two individuals were within a few feet of an armed, noncompliant individual. The risk was immediate and the situation was rapidly evolving.’
Several members of the Pocatello community have expressed their distrust, with many calling for an independent investigation to ‘ensure all evidence is reviewed,’ according to Idaho News 6.
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.
Vazquez has reiterated that Perez walked with a staggering gait because of his disabilities – he was not intoxicated. The boy’s 16-year-old sister also yelled to the police not to shoot and that he was ‘special,’ Vazquez said.
However, it was unclear if the police heard any such comments, which were not apparent on the circulating video.
Vazquez said that this was Perez’s first interaction with law enforcement, as the family had never called police for help with the boy in the past.
Across the country, police departments are increasing training for officers on best ways to identify and interact with people who may have developmental or intellectual disabilities, including many trainings centering on autism.
The trainings often focus in on ways people on the autism spectrum react to outside stimulus like noise or touching, that can be seen as resisting commands or resisting arrest to someone not on the spectrum.
Some groups have started providing stickers or marked license plates for people with autistic family members as a signal for police.