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Concerned citizens hold a rally against police violence on Broadway Bridge in Idaho Falls on Saturday afternoon. | Courtesy of Jeremy Herman
IDAHO FALLS – A spate of recent shootings involving officers in eastern Idaho prompted a local group to stage a rally in Idaho Falls on Saturday afternoon.
Members of a group called Citizens for Accountability, Advocacy and Public Safety staged a protest on the Broadway Bridge in Idaho Falls from 2 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. to denounce police violence.
“We are a group of people concerned about the state of the shootings in eastern Idaho, and we are particularly frustrated with the Idaho Falls Police Department and the shooting that took place a few weeks ago ( involving Joe Johnson and Agent Elias Cerdas) ”. Event co-organizer Jeremy Herman told EastIdahoNews.com.
Investigators saw a spate of shootings involving officers in eastern Idaho over a 10-day period earlier this month. Shootings have taken place in Pocatello, Rexburg and Bingham County, requiring all of the resources of the Eastern Idaho Critical Incident Task Force, which is investigating these cases.
Joe Johnson, a resident of Idaho Falls, was shot and killed in his backyard in the early morning hours of February 8 as police pursued 22-year-old Tanner Shoesmith, who fled a traffic stop. Shoesmith was reportedly armed and had a violent history with law enforcement.
During the incident, police met with Johnson, who lived in the area. Johnson was armed and dressed the same as Shoesmith. It is not known exactly what happened, but during the incident, Agent Elias Cerdas shot and killed Johnson.
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“He’s an officer who just finished his training,” says Herman. “These formations and policies should have prevented a tragedy like this from happening. From my conversations with the mayor and police chief over the past year – which they told me was based on commanding and controlling the situation, rather than standing take cover, approach with caution, and try to avoid shooting – there doesn’t seem to be any point in changing the situation. culture of filming first and asking questions later.
Herman hopes that disciplinary action will be taken against the officer responsible for shooting the victim. He calls on the mayor and the chief of police to reform the police service’s policy on managing shootings to prevent such a situation from happening again.
Idaho Falls Police Department spokeswoman Jessica Clements said she could not speak to this specific incident at this time as it is still under investigation, but the Police Department no There is no policy of shooting first and asking questions later.
“We need the results of this survey in order to assess whether or not current policies and training have been followed and, therefore, whether or not current policies and training are the best they can be.” , Clements said. “Making changes to policies and training based on incomplete data and partial details does not make sense and would not result in meaningful policies or best practices, which we all want.”
Clements says it’s hard to be patient given how tragic the situation is and their goal is to be open and honest with the public.
“Really, we want to answer these questions. At the moment we are waiting for more information to be able to do so, ”says Clements.
The timetable for the end of the investigation has not been released.
Herman says the community received a lot of support at Saturday’s rally. About 20 people attended the event. Other people involved in his organization include Kimberly Zwygart, Elizabeth Cogliati and Katrin Lepler.
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