UPDATE (April 11, 4:00 p.m.): The family of Victor Perez, the teen shot by Pocatello Police last weekend, told the Idaho State Journal he was declared brain dead Friday afternoon.
The family is planning on taking him off of life support on Saturday, according to KTVB.
Perez has autism and cerebral palsy. The 17-year-old appeared to be holding a knife inside a fenced-in year when he was shot multiple times by officers within seconds of their arrival on scene.
Video of the incident, taken by a neighbor, was picked up by national media outlets and shared widely on social media.
In a statement released Thursday, the Mayor of Pocatello Brian Blad said the four police officers were placed on administrative leave following the shooting, per city policy. He added he expected the body camera footage of the incident to be released in the coming weeks.
The family of Perez set up a GoFundMe page for him.
ORIGINAL STORY: Pocatello Police made a press statement defending the weekend shooting of a 17-year-old with autism. On Monday, his family reported to Local News 8 he was in critical condition.
In a video circulating on social media, officers are seen opening fire within seconds of responding to a domestic disturbance call on Saturday.
Pocatello Police Chief Roger Schei did not take questions on Monday afternoon and played the 911 call that dispatched the police in its entirety.
“We are also aware of the video circulating online, which shows only one angle. The full picture requires careful, careful review of all facts and evidence,” he said.
A video taken by a bystander from across the street shows the teenager laying on the ground in a residential front yard surrounded by a fence. The teen appears to be holding a knife while an adult woman stands out of his reach, seemingly trying to talk to him.
The video shows the teen making uncoordinated slow movements for about two minutes before four police officers rush to the scene.
When the teenager sees them, he stumbles up and officers immediately start shouting at him. The teen takes two steps towards them before they shoot him multiple times and he falls to the ground. Less than 20 seconds go by between the officers leaving their vehicle and them opening fire.
The video shows the officers were separated from the victim by a chain link fence.
Schei said the East Idaho Critical Incident Task Force would be investigating the shooting.
“We know this incident has deeply affected the community,” the chief said.
The Pocatello PD’s facebook account is flooded by negative comments decrying police brutality. Many commenters are asking why the officers on the scene did not de-escalate the situation before shooting.
The teen’s family told Local News 8 he had to have his leg amputated over the weekend, and went into another surgery on Monday morning.
