Officer cleared in shooting

BOISE – A Nez Perce Tribal Police officer has been cleared in the fatal shooting of a Lewiston man, but one of his colleagues could be in trouble.

U.S. Attorney Wendy Olson announced Thursday that the officer who shot 46-year-old Jeffery Allen Flinn would not be prosecuted. But another officer, Trevor Michael Garrett, had been charged with making false statements to FBI agents investigating Flinn’s death.

Flinn died following a 50-mile car chase that ended in gunfire Nov. 12.

Police say Flinn had been released from jail earlier that day following a drunken driving arrest and then got involved in a one-vehicle crash outside Lewiston. Police say he then stole a truck from another motorist and fled before officers arrived.

Tribal police say they tried to pull Flinn over, but he refused.