Former Idaho state trooper sentenced for wrongful arrest of woman
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COEUR D’ALENE — A former Idaho State Police trooper was sentenced for falsely arresting a woman in 2017 after his wife called him about a car alarm in the middle of the night.
On Sept. 7, Joshua Kagarice, 39, was placed on a year of probation, ordered to pay a $500 fine and complete 60 hours of community service after being convicted of misdemeanor false arrest. Kagarice was also fired by ISP after an investigation into the Kootenai County events that resulted in a woman being forced to the ground and placed into handcuffs.
The Kootenai County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office said in a news release that in June 2017, Kagarice was on duty as a trooper and received a message from his wife regarding a car alarm that was going off in their neighborhood. Kagarice drove to his neighborhood around 3:30 a.m. The car stopped making noise when he arrived.
While at the home where the car alarm was located, Kagarice used his pepper spray on a dog in the yard. He also got no response when knocking on the door.
Thirteen hours after responding to the house, Kagarice returned to the home in his patrol vehicle and dressed in his uniform. Police reports show Kagarice knocked on the door and demanded a woman give her identifying information when she answered.
The woman said she called dispatch asking why law enforcement was at her house and they said there were no complaints or any record of why a trooper would be at her home. When the woman declined to give her information, prosecutors say Kagarice prevented the woman from closing her door and demanded she get outside.
Kagarice held the woman, forced her to the ground and arrested her with two children witnessing the encounter. Kagarice asked the woman be charged with misdemeanor resisting and obstructing.
Court records reviewed by EastIdahoNews.com show the case was eventually drooped by prosecutors in October 2017.
ISP placed Kagarice on leave during the investigation and he was eventually fired. Kagarice was charged in 2017 and after years of legal battles received his sentence last week.
When handing down the sentence Magistrate Judge Patrick McFadden did not listen to prosecutors’ request to have Kagarice sentenced to 180 days in jail with 170 of them being suspended. Five of the days would have been for five days in custody with an additional five days with the Sheriff’s Labor program if prosecutors’ requests were heard.
“The Idaho State Police expect the highest standards of professional conduct among its employees,” ISP Captain John Kempf said in a statement to the media. “The victim, in this case, called ISP with the initial account of what occurred. ISP requested the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office to conduct a follow-up independent criminal investigation, in which ISP cooperated fully. ISP joins the Kootenai County Prosecutor in promoting trust and accountability in the conduct of law enforcement personnel.”