Community speakers press Pocatello council for accountability, training after police shooting of Victor Perez

Pocatello — Public comment at the City Council meeting was dominated by demands for accountability after the April 5 police shooting of Victor Perez, multiple speakers said. Dozens of residents and students addressed the council, asking for officer names to be released, firings, improved training and cooperation with the Idaho attorney general's investigation.

Kyler Johnson, an Idaho State University student, called the police account that the threat was "imminent" inaccurate and said video showed Perez lying on the ground when officers arrived. "The police are wholly responsible for the escalation of the situation," Johnson said, and called for release of the officers' names, full cooperation with the state's investigation and firing of the four officers without pay.

Maddox Bigford Thorpe, a political science student at Idaho State University, said Perez was behind a chest-high fence holding a knife and that officers did not use nonlethal options or de-escalation. "We need to have more training for the police department for them to help properly protect us and not just draw a weapon," Thorpe said.

Speakers with direct caregiving experience called for specialized training. Rose Idemiller, who said she holds a master’s in social work and has a son on the autism spectrum, urged the council to ensure officers receive disability-informed training and to remind officers that drawing a gun should not be the first response to people in crisis. "They did with my son. He's on the spectrum," Idemiller said, describing a prior contact with police that she found unsatisfactory.

Others described the shooting as a systemic problem. Matthew Shumway called the incident "a microcosm for numerous social, moral, and constitutional failures," and demanded accountability. Amber Marsh, who identified herself as autistic and said she is 16, read a poem and demanded that the four officers be arrested and charged.

Security chief Travis Gentry, who said he works at a warming shelter in Old Town Pocatello, said he raised an autistic youth and found the shooting "wrong," adding "these officers need to be held very accountable for their actions." Several parents and caregivers said children in their households are now afraid to go to school or to interact with police.

Speakers repeatedly requested that the city release the names of the officers involved, and that the Pocatello Police Department (PPD) work with mental-health providers to expand de-escalation training and nonlethal response options. Commenters also criticized police decisions after the shooting, including the use of a "structure"/sniper team at a later peaceful protest, and urged full transparency about the department's actions.

Council members did not take formal action during the public-comment period; the council said the city will comply with any state investigation. The city clerk and staff recorded signups and limited in-person comments to two minutes per speaker to allow more people to be heard.

Speakers at the meeting included students, parents and service providers; several announced plans to continue protests until they see legal or administrative action. The council closed the public-comment period after a scheduled 15-minute window and proceeded with the agenda.

The comments reflect broad public concern about police use of force, response to people with developmental disabilities, and the level of departmental transparency and accountability.