The aunt of a Idaho teenager that the police shot him nine times said that the officers should have taken more time to evaluate the situation before shooting their weapons.
Victor Pérez remained in a critical condition in a hospital on Thursday and has not regained consciousness from the shooting on Saturday, his aunt Ana Vázquez said.
Pérez, 17, who is autistic and has cerebral palsy, had taken a knife during a family barbecue and his sister was trying to get him away when a neighbor called the police, Vázquez said.
“He called that the police could help us,” he said, adding that the neighbor did not know Pérez’s medical condition or that the adolescent was having a mental health crisis.
The shooting, captured in video, has caused protests in the city of around 56,300.
“The police did not even ask what the situation was when they arrived,” Vázquez said. She said the officers overlooked other family members.
“They didn’t hear, they didn’t even hesitate to shoot,” Vázquez said. “They simply shoot to kill.”
The mayor of Pocatello, Brian Blad, in a statement on Thursday said that the shooting was tragic and that an exhaustive investigation is being carried out. He said his thoughts are with the Pérez family.
The four officers were immediately placed on administrative license after the shooting, which is the standard police policy, Blad said.
“We are addressing this matter with the seriousness and thoroughness that it deserves and with the appropriate respect for the seriousness of the situation,” he said. “The criminal, external and internal investigations with respect to the shooting involved by the officer are underway.”
Police chief Roger Schei said the officers repeatedly ordered Pérez to drop the knife and that the adolescent stood up and advanced towards them while holding the gun.
The 911 call said it seemed that someone was trying to stab another person with a knife.
“In this case, two individuals were a few feet from an armed individual and not satisfied,” said the boss at a press conference on Monday. “The risk was immediate and the situation in rapid evolution.”
The teenager’s aunt said that the family had hidden a knife, but that Pérez found it and took it. Family members tried to get it, he said.
“The boy wasn’t threatening us, he wasn’t doing that,” he said. “We were trying to get the knife out of their hands.”
The video of an eyewitness captured the incident. The video posted on Facebook shows a person on the ground holding a knife in a patio. A woman is seen protesting with him, saying “no, no” and trying to contain or grab the knife.
To the 2:44 brand, the police arrive and four armed officers begin to shout, “release the knife” behind the steel garden fence. Pérez struggles to stop before moving towards the officers, who open fire at 2:58, followed by the terrified shouts of his family.
Pérez is connected to machines in the hospital, said Vázquez.
“We are devastated. Every day we go there, we talk to the child, we verify if there are improvements,” he said. “Then, we are just waiting.”
The family, originally from the western part of Puerto Rico, said that the support of the Idaho community has been surprised and are grateful.
“It’s an incredible community,” he said.
