*An Idaho man standing in his own backyard was shot and killed by a cop who thought he was a suspect.
According to a statement from the sheriff’s office, the incident occurred when a Bonneville County sheriff’s deputy pulled over a vehicle for a broken taillight in Idaho Falls. The passenger immediately took off running toward a residential neighborhood, while the driver remained on the scene, NBC News reports.
The police searched the area for the suspect, with a resident reportedly informing them that the suspect ran through their yard. He was wearing a black shirt and khaki pants and believed to be armed with a gun.
The driver identified the suspect as 22-year-old Tanner J. N. Shoesmith, who had multiple warrants for his arrest, including one related to charges of felony battery on an officer, authorities said.
At some point, the driver received a text message from Shoesmith and it revealed his GPS location, which was in the neighborhood where the officers were searching for him.
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An Idaho police officer fatally shot a man who was standing in his own backyard after mistaking him for a suspect https://t.co/iEPcu3kejh
— BuzzFeed News (@BuzzFeedNews) February 10, 2021
“Officers and deputies surrounded the residence and backyard in order to prevent the suspect from fleeing,” the statement said. “Due to the information that the suspect may be armed, and a prior history of violence when interacting with police officers, law enforcement personnel entered the location with their service weapons drawn.”
Officers said they encountered a man in a black shirt armed with a gun, and ordered him to drop the weapon, according to the statement.
“We do not currently have the answers as to what exactly occurred during these moments,” Chief of Police Bryce Johnson said in a news release. “We do know that during this interaction, an Idaho Falls Police Officer discharged his service weapon firing one shot which struck the man. Officers attempted life-saving measures but they were unsuccessful. Emergency medical personnel from the Idaho Falls Fire Department also responded and were also unable to provide any lifesaving aide to the man.”
Per the press release, the man who was fatally shot was not the suspect. The officer who shot him has not been named but is currently on administrative leave pending an investigation into the shooting.
“The Idaho Falls Police Department has core values, one of those values being integrity,” Johnson said. “As we define integrity it means being honest and truthful at all times, even when the truths we have to tell may be difficult. Today, the truths we have to share with the community are difficult and incredibly tragic.”
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