Prosecutor clears deputies involved in deadly shooting, releases video detailing timeline of events
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EDITOR’S NOTE: The critical incident video in the player above contains graphic images and language. Viewer discretion is strongly advised.
SHELLEY — A review by the Bingham County Prosecutor’s Office has determined that six deputies were justified in using deadly force during an August confrontation in Shelley that left 31-year-old Talon Sessions dead.
The finding follows an investigation by the Eastern Idaho Critical Incident Task Force, with the Pocatello Police Department serving as the lead agency.
Bingham County Prosecutor Ryan Jolley said in a six-page written review that the evidence — including 911 recordings, body camera footage, and high-definition drone video — showed Sessions posed a clear threat to law enforcement officers at the scene.
The incident
The shooting occurred late on Aug. 19 and into the early morning of Aug. 20 at a rural property on 1330 East, north of Shelley. Bingham and Bonneville sheriff deputies were called to reports of gunfire between homeowner Steven Demott and a man trying to steal a four-wheeler.
According to Jolley’s report, Demott was shot in the knee during the exchange. The suspect took off but was believed to still be in the area and armed.
Idaho State Police troopers were also among the law enforcement entities that responded.
A drone deployed by law enforcement later found Sessions lying in the brush west of the property, holding a revolver. Deputies approached and repeatedly ordered him to drop the weapon, show his hands, and remain still. Body camera footage captured the commands, as well as warnings that a police dog would be released if he did not comply.
Sessions refused to surrender, and video shows him raising the revolver toward deputies, Jolley wrote.
Six deputies — Tyler Moon, Elijah Cawthon and Jared Miller from Bingham County, and Jasen Smith, Kollin Gardner and Cameron Hunt from Bonneville County — fired a total of 30 rounds. Sessions died at the scene despite deputies performing lifesaving measures.
Legal review
In his report, Jolley cited Idaho law allowing officers to use deadly force when they have probable cause to believe a suspect poses a threat of death or serious injury to others. He emphasized that the deputies acted reasonably under rapidly evolving and dangerous circumstances.
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“Sessions made the decision to point his revolver directly at law enforcement,” Jolley wrote. “Each of the deputies who fired did so reasonably and justifiably in fear for themselves and for other members of their team.”
Investigators later determined that Sessions’ revolver was empty, but Jolley noted that deputies had no way of knowing that.
“They had to operate with the belief that he still posed a deadly threat,” he said.
Jolley concluded that the deputies’ actions were justified and that the investigation into the shooting was “thorough and complete.”
“Sessions chose multiple times that night to make poor decisions,” Jolley wrote. “It is unfortunate he chose to make those decisions which led to him losing his life.”
Had Sessions survived, Jolley said, he would have faced multiple felony charges, including aggravated assault on law enforcement.
Read Jolley’s entire report here and watch the video in the player above.