Prosecutor: Officer acted in self-defense in shooting and killing knife-wielding man
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EDITOR’S NOTE: The bodycam footage in the player above is EXTREMELY graphic. Please watch at your own discretion.
IDAHO FALLS — The Bonneville County Prosecutor has announced the findings of an investigation after an officer-involved shooting in December.
Bonneville County Prosecutor Randy Neal announced Friday that the Idaho Falls Police officer Eric Rose, who was involved in a shooting that killed 26-year-old Eduardo Trejo De Arcos, was justified in his actions of self-defense.
“Officer Rose was protecting himself and others by reasonable means necessary from an aggravated assault and/or attempted murder, and thus Idaho law prohibits placing the officer in ‘legal jeopardy of any kind whatsoever, ‘” Neal says in his findings.
Neal says he commends Rose and the other officers involved for their bravery and attempts to disarm Trejo De Arcos and protect the victim, after they were called for a report of a domestic disturbance.
“I likewise commend Officer Rose and the other officers for their selfless bravery. One officer in the apartment placed himself at tremendous risk in the attempt to disarm Mr. Trejo de Arcos and thereby eliminate the threat he posed,” Neal says. “If these actions had been successful, it likely would have saved Mr. Trejo de Arcos’ life. It is clear by the way they acted, these officers were not seeking a reason to use deadly force, but to the contrary hoped to avoid its use.”
IFPD released the body camera footage to the public on Jan. 8. It is very graphic and difficult to watch. Watch here at your own discretion.
According to a news release from the Idaho Falls Police Department, officers were called at 5:05 a.m. by a man, who stated that his adult daughter had texted him to call the police because her boyfriend was threatening her.
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In the bodycam footage, two officers are seen knocking at the door, which Trejo De Arcos answered. The officers state they were there for a noise complaint, and Trejo De Arcos let them into the apartment, saying he and the victim had been arguing.
The primary officer, Officer Eric Rose, enters a bedroom to speak with the victim. She tells the officer that she and Trejo De Arcos had been fighting “all night” and that he had pushed her, choked her, and threatened to kill her while “holding a large knife near her head.”
Officers later measured the knife in question and determined it was 14 inches long end-to-end with an 8-inch blade.
The victim told the officer that Trejo De Arcos had taken the knife into the front room when officers knocked on the door. She also told police that Trejo De Arcos had taken her phone after she had texted her father to call 911.
Rose then walked back into the front room and turned the light on, asking Trejo De Arcos what had happened.
Trejo De Arcos stated that he and the victim had been arguing, and admitted that he had pushed her, but denied any of the other allegations. The officer then noticed the knife on a dresser drawer that was on the couch in the front room, across from Trejo De Arcos.
Trejo De Arcos told officers he had brought the knife into the front room when he came to answer the door “just in case” it was the victim’s father. He then stated, “I told her I’d kill her dad if he came over here.”
Rose then informed Trejo De Arcos that he was under arrest, and Trejo De Arcos lunged forward toward the knife and was able to grab it while wrestling with officers. Rose yells twice for Trejo De Arcos to drop the knife, but he does not.
The officers were able to push TrejoDe Arcos into the kitchen to create distance from them and from the victim. He then turned back toward officers with the knife raised in his right hand, and he was then shot by Rose, once in the left side of his chest.
Officers yelled again for him to drop the knife, and he did before falling to the floor. This part of the video is highly graphic.
The officers then radioed for EMS and provided emergency aid for Trejo De Arcos, but he was later pronounced dead on scene.