- Four Pocatello officers won't face charges for shooting autistic teen Victor Perez.
- Idaho AG's office says officers were justified in using deadly force April 5.
- Perez's shooting sparked global attention protests and demands for officers' arrest.
BOISE — The Idaho Attorney General's Office will not file charges against four Pocatello police officers who shot a teenager with developmental disabilities this spring.
The officers fired 14 times in fewer than two seconds, with 12 of the bullets hitting 17-year-old Victor Perez. The police were called to his home on April 5 for a report of a disturbance. The teenager died a week later after doctors amputated his leg and he was clinically declared brain dead.
The shooting garnered attention from around the world. Cellphone video of the incident has been viewed millions of times, and protests have been held across the state with participants demanding justice for Perez. Members of the community expressed outrage at City Council meetings and demanded the officers be arrested and charged.
The Eastern Idaho Critical Incident Task Force investigated the shooting, and Bannock County prosecuting attorney Ian Johnson asked the office of Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador to determine whether criminal charges should be filed.
In a 12-page letter sent to Johnson on Wednesday morning, Idaho Deputy Attorney General Jeff Nye acknowledged the shooting was a tragedy and explained why the officers will not be charged.
"The state would be unable to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the four officers who discharged their weapons were not justified in using deadly force," Nye wrote. "We will thus not file criminal charges against the officers."
The shooting
Perez was nonverbal and had developmental delays, autism, aggressive behavior, abnormal gait and other medical conditions, according to his autopsy.
"His family tried to keep him away from knives for his protection and the protection of those around him. But on April 5, 2025, he managed to gain access to a large kitchen knife with an approximately 9-inch blade," Nye wrote.
The afternoon of the shooting, surveillance video from a nearby business showed Perez's grandfather, mother and 16-year-old sister struggling with him in the backyard. A neighbor began recording with his cellphone and called 911, explaining that a man who appeared to be intoxicated was wielding a knife and trying to stab other people.
The struggle between Perez and his family lasted around 13 minutes, according to Nye's letter, and his sister "spent much of that time physically trying to control Perez by herself … without a weapon of her own and without any serious injuries to herself, Perez, or anyone else present."
The 911 dispatcher requested that four officers respond, more than usual for a typical disturbance. The only information the officers had was what was relayed to them from the dispatcher. They did not hear the actual 911 call and were unaware of Perez's disabilities or age.
None of the officers were given an address for the disturbance prior to arriving at the scene, according to Nye, and dispatch was working off the information provided by the 911 caller who said the address was "behind 702 North Main." Perez's residence was on North Harrison.
Officers from the Pocatello Police Department had responded to Perez's home in the past, but none of them were present at the time of the shooting. Nye said AG investigators learned during the follow-up investigation that the Pocatello Police Department does not flag residences for mental health issues. Even though police had responded to calls involving Perez and his mental health before April 5, the home was not flagged in a system.
Nye provided a computer-aided dispatch report in his letter to Johnson showing what information the officers knew.
The officers each drove their own cars. Three of them were armed with Glock handguns; the other carried a beanbag shotgun.
They rushed to the backyard where Perez's grandfather was on the outside of the fence leaning against the gate. He said, "No, no, that's OK, that's OK," according to Nye's letter. Perez's sister, who was a few feet away from her brother with their mother, extended her arms toward the officers and shouted.
Officers quickly approached the fence, pointed their guns at Perez and yelled for him to put the knife down.
"He got up on his knees, lifted the knife in his left hand above his head, and pointed the blade toward the sky. He fell forward and caught himself using his hands. With his hands on the ground in front of him, he put his feet on the ground behind him. He stood up and took a step toward the officers. As he stepped, he put both hands on the knife in front of his body with the blade pointed up and toward the officers," Nye wrote.
That's when all four officers fired their weapons. Investigators estimated they were standing around 12 feet away from Perez, who was on the other side of the fence.
"The officers simultaneously fired a single volley of 14 bullets and a beanbag. All shots were fired within the span of less than two seconds. Perez's autopsy report described 12 gunshot wounds," Nye wrote.
Police performed lifesaving measures before Perez was rushed to Portneuf Medical Center, where he died nearly a week later.
