Relatives say an autistic and nonverbal teenage boy who was shot by Idaho police from the other side of a chain-link fence while holding a knife has died.

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, his aunt, Ana Vazquez, told The Associated Press. He had undergone several surgeries, with doctors removing nine bullets and amputating his leg.

The shooting outraged Perez’s family and Pocatello residents, and about 200 people attended a vigil Saturday morning outside the Pocatello hospital where he was treated. Another 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 during the protest, though no violence was reported. Many of the protesters held signs with phrases like, “Do better, PPD” and “Justice for Victor,” and passing cars honked in acknowledgment.

  • Milk_Sheikh@lemm.ee
    6·
    2 days ago

    I have heard multiple firearms trainers give statements to the effect of

    If your open hand skill [unarmed fighting] sucks, you will rush to the firearm instead of other options because you don’t have faith in yourself. And when the first bullet doesn’t do the magic of an ‘instant stop’ like people pretend, you’ll end up mag dumping.

    And if you watch police body-cam footage, you can see their panic switch pull the trigger, and then the cadence of gunfire rapidly picks up after that first shot.

    Go look at any police force in Europe where the ‘suspect with a knife’ gets vastly different treatment.

    • Police gang up and tackle them
    • Nets/bolas style deployable restraints
    • Low speed vehicle ramming to get the suspect on the floor and dazed
    • Beanbag/less lethal shots to the body for pain compliance/muscle shock so they drop the knife

    Euro cops almost always have a pistol, but the mentality is completely different regarding shoot v no-shoot