Outrage builds as video shows Idaho police shooting a knife-wielding teen across a chain-link fence

Video taken by a witness shows Idaho police officers shooting and critically wounding a teenage boy — described by his family as nonverbal, autistic and intellectually disabled — as he began walking toward them with a knife from the other side of a chain-link fence.

The boy, who also has cerebral palsy, remained hospitalized in critical condition Tuesday after having nine bullets removed from his body and having his leg amputated, Ana Vazquez, his aunt, told The Associated Press.

“We don’t know if he’s going to wake up,” she said.

The video has prompted outrage from the boy’s family as well as viewers online who questioned why the officers opened fire within about 12 seconds of exiting their patrol cars on Saturday while making no apparent effort to de-escalate the situation.

“This was really traumatic for me to watch, for me and my son to be a part of,” Brad Andres, who recorded the video, told The Associated Press. “My son was the one that called the 911 with the hopes of helping the family deal with the situation that was going on. He had no idea that what was going to transpire.”

Andres’ son called 911 around 5:22 p.m. Saturday to report a domestic dispute in a nearby backyard. An apparently intoxicated man was wielding a kitchen knife and periodically chasing a man and woman in the yard, he reported, according to audio of the 911 call released by the Pocatello Police Department.

“He seems pretty drunk,” the caller told a dispatcher. “He’s just running at them with a knife and then falling over. I think he just stabbed himself, actually.”

The caller noted that the people in the yard were not speaking English.

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

The teen was still on the ground when police arrived at about 5:25 p.m. Four officers ran to the fence, ordering him to drop the knife — in English. Instead, the boy stood up and began taking steps toward them with the knife in his hand. The officers shot repeatedly.

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,” Schei said.

Schei said he would not answer questions about the shooting because of an investigation being conducted by the East Idaho Critical Incident Task Force.

“In situations like this, officers must make decisions in seconds,” Schei 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 rapidly evolving.”

He added: “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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Johnson reported from Seattle, Lauer from Philadelphia and Thiessen from Anchorage, Alaska.