Newly released body-worn camera footage shows the moment Idaho police officers fatally shot autistic 17-year-old Victor Perez nine times earlier this month, prompting protests and potential legal action. The April 5 footage shows there were about 16 seconds from the moment police arrived at the Perez family home in Pocatello, Idaho, to the moment shots were fired. In the video, one officer is heard loudly shouting "drop the knife" five times before firing — but no other words or commands are audible. According to his aunt, Anna Vasquez, Perez had cerebral palsy, was nonverbal and had the mental age of a 5 year old. Pocatello Mayor Brian Blad told reporters Thursday night that the city was voluntarily releasing the footage and the audio of the 911 call made by a neighbor as Perez's family struggled with him during a barbecue.
The death of Victor Perez, an autistic and nonverbal 17-year-old, has sparked outrage in Idaho after police shot him repeatedly on April 5. Perez, who also had cerebral palsy, was taken off life support Saturday following a prolonged coma. Tests confirmed the teenager had no brain activity. Perez was shot by Pocatello police officers after they responded to a 911 call about a man with a knife. The officers reportedly fired within seconds of their arrival, making no attempt to de-escalate the situation, according to video evidence. The incident has raised questions about police conduct and procedures.
An autistic, nonverbal teenage boy who was shot repeatedly by Idaho police from the other side of a chain-link fence while he was holding a knife died Saturday after being removed from life support, his family said. 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. Police in the southeast Idaho city of Pocatello responded to a 911 call reporting that an apparently intoxicated man with a knife was chasing someone in a yard.
