In brief: Police body cam captures gunfire audio
A body camera worn by a police officer present when gunfire was exchanged between a man and a sheriff’s deputy captured quality audio but poor visual images.
The footage was captured by the body camera of Liberty Lake Police Officer Jeff Jones, who came to the scene Friday night to back up Deputy Jeff Thurman, who had pulled over a car with three people in it near Barker Road and Cataldo Avenue.
Jones responded to Thurman’s request for backup because the location is near the Liberty Lake city limits. A man, who survived and whose identity has not been released by investigators, ran away after Thurman told him to get out of the car. Thurman and Jones chased the man and as they tried to arrest him, he turned and fired a shot, the Sheriff’s Office said. Thurman returned fire, striking the suspect once.
Liberty Lake Police Chief Brian Asmus said he viewed the recorded footage once and said little can be seen of the struggle with the suspect. “You can see flailing arms and clothes,” he said. “The audio is good. You can hear the gunfire, but you can’t really see anything.”
Teens face charges in Safeway shooting
Two teenagers are in the Spokane County Jail facing six charges of first-degree assault each in connection with a shooting in the Safeway parking lot Jan. 26 in Hillyard.
According to court documents, the teens were part of a group that had arrived to assault another group of people whom they had had an altercation with earlier in the day. One member of the group, who has not yet been arrested, allegedly pulled out a gun and fired several shots, according to court documents.
The two 17-year-olds are being charged as adults. Police said the teens are members or associates of the “NFL Squad” that is affiliated with the Gangster Disciples street gang, according to court documents.
The group the suspects were targeting fled the scene, court documents say. One of their vehicles was hit twice by bullets as it left the Safeway parking lot at 3929 N. Market St.
Leaders write to oppose racing machines
A group of 17 North Idaho community leaders, including Coeur d’Alene’s mayor, business leaders and others, has sent a letter to Gov. Butch Otter, Attorney General Lawrence Wasden and lawmakers strongly opposing the new “instant racing” machines that have cropped up at locations including the Greyhound Park Event Center in Post Falls.
The letter calls the machines a “new form of casino gaming” and warns, “If instant racing is not stopped, we could see these installed in one location in every county in the state.” It adds, “Furthermore, these new off-reservation casinos will directly harm one of the largest employers and economic drivers in North Idaho – the Coeur d’Alene Tribe.”
The machines were installed after lawmakers approved legislation in 2013 to allow betting on broadcasts of “historical” or past horse races to benefit the state’s dwindling horse-racing industry, but some say they didn’t expect the slot machine-like terminals. The tribe has proposed legislation, which a Senate committee agreed to introduce, to repeal the 2013 law.
Foley Institute hosts indigenous rights talk
The Foley Institute, in cooperation with Eastern Washington University, is presenting a free lecture on the rights of indigenous people.
James Anaya, a University of Arizona professor, will talk about the rights of indigenous people in the contemporary world. His talk takes place 7 p.m. Feb. 12 at the Riverpoint Campus in the Phase 1 Auditorium, 668 N. Riverpoint Blvd., Room 122.
Anaya is the Lenoir professor of human rights law and policy at the University of Arizona.
Boys drown after falling through ice
GREAT FALLS – Authorities said two young boys drowned after they fell through the ice on a sewage lagoon near Great Falls.
Cascade County Sheriff Bob Edwards told the Great Falls Tribune that three boys fell through the ice about 8 miles east of Centerville on Wednesday afternoon. They range in age from 4 to 5.
One of the boys was pulled from the water crying and is in intensive care. The other two boys were found unresponsive.
“The kids were playing on the ice and unfortunately hit a very thin spot and then they went in,” Edwards said.
The boys’ names have not been released.
ISP: Pot rules limit out-of-state applicants
BOISE – Idaho State Police officials said it’s getting harder to hire officers from outside the state who also meet Idaho’s strict anti-marijuana-use criteria.
Vic Macraw with ISP told a Senate legislative panel Wednesday that lax marijuana laws in states like Washington and Utah have narrowed the pool of eligible recruits looking to move to Idaho.
Currently, ISP rejects applicants who have had natural or synthetic marijuana in the past three years, while employed as a law enforcement officer or used the substance on a regular basis in the past five years. However, rejected applicants may be reconsidered by an ISP review board.
Democratic Sen. Grant Burgoyne of Boise said the state’s rules are antiquated and should be tweaked to stay competitive with other states.