Man shot by police remembered as humble, kind

IDAHO FALLS — An Idaho State Police trooper who fired his duty weapon and killed a man during a foot pursuit Friday night has been placed on paid administrative leave.

Investigators have not released the name of the officer involved in the shooting and remain tight-lipped about specific circumstances surrounding the incident. Police initiated a traffic stop in the area of Northgate Mile and Lomax Street around 11:42 p.m. and say 35-year-old Jesse J. Quinton fled on foot.

The pursuit ended with a physical altercation and the trooper fired one shot that killed Quinton.

“I’m shocked and really don’t know what happened,” Chris Urban, a friend and co-worker of Quinton’s, told EastIdahoNews.com Monday. “It’s a big loss.”

Quinton grew up in the slums of Colombia and was adopted at the age of six by an Idaho Falls couple. As he grew up, he found a passion for wildland firefighting.

“He kept to himself but is the type of guy that would give you the shirt off his back,” Urban said, describing his friend as soft spoken and humble.

Craig Eads also worked with Quinton, who went by “Zeus,” and said they fought fires together for Dust Busters Plus across the Pacific Northwest. Eads said the company of nearly 500 is at a loss of words following Quinton’s death.

“Zeus was super committed to firefighting and he was a stellar role model in our company,” Eads said.

Eads described Quinton as “the most humble person” and not aggressive. While he practiced Jujitsu and was an accomplished athlete, Eads said that his friend was also a pacifist.

Eads said Quinton recently purchased an older Honda from a co-worker and had been plagued by being pulled over by police since the purchase. Eads believes the vehicle and Quinton’s brown skin tone made him prone to being questioned by officers.

Quinton has some misdemeanors and citations on his Idaho criminal record but has never been charged with a felony, according to I-courts.

The Eastern Idaho Critical Incident Task Force is investigating the shooting with the Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office as the lead investigative agency.

“An extensive investigation is underway and it will take a quite a bit (of time) to complete,” said Tim Marsano, a spokesman with Idaho State Police.