An Orofino man was fatally shot by cops. Attorney says ‘false information’ was released
The family of a 48-year-old Orofino man who was fatally shot by Clearwater County deputies during a confrontation Jan. 31 held a media conference Wednesday to say the investigators have released false information about the victim.
Stephen Stubbs, a Las Vegas attorney who represents the family of Michael J. Trappett, said the media conference, held at the Maxey Law Office conference room in Spokane on Wednesday, was intended to refute earlier information about the fatal shooting sent out by the Clearwater County Sheriff’s Office.
“The police immediately sent out false information about Mike and we would have loved to not have this press conference and to let the investigation happen properly and fully and get those results,” Stubbs said in a telephone interview with the Lewiston Tribune.
“But immediately after the shooting the police sent out misinformation about Mike being aggressive and really painting Mike in a very bad light. … We couldn’t let that go unanswered.”
Clearwater County Sheriff Chris Goetz said in a text to the Tribune that he viewed the Trappett family’s statement. The case is still being investigated, Goetz said, and he will review it once the investigation is complete. He added that both deputies had body cameras recording the incident and the footage, along with audio recordings from his office’s dispatch, were all turned over to the Lewiston Police Department, which is conducting an investigation of the incident.
“This is an open and active investigation, so there is nothing we can release at this time,” said Carol Mauer, public information officer for the Lewiston Police Department.
According to a news release from the sheriff’s office on Jan. 31, two deputies were dispatched to a residence on Harmony Heights Loop Road for a report of an aggressive, intoxicated male armed with a knife. When the deputies arrived they could not immediately locate the suspect, but he was eventually found outside the residence. The suspect was still armed with the knife “and began aggressing” the deputies with the knife, the news release said.
“The male would not respond to verbal commands and deadly force was used,” the news release said.
The next day, the suspect was identified by the sheriff’s office as Trappett. The deputies involved were placed on administrative leave and the investigation was turned over to the Lewiston police.
Stubbs said Trappett’s family denied that Trappett was aggressive or dangerous. Stubbs said he had known Trappett for about 20 years because Trappett’s sister is a close friend of Stubbs’ wife. Trappett used to visit his sister in Nevada, Stubbs said, and that’s when the attorney became acquainted with him.
Stubbs said the media conference was held in Spokane to allow television stations that had reported on the incident access to the family’s statement. Stubbs also contacted several other media organizations, including the Lewiston Tribune, about the conference.
When asked whether the Trappett family intended to file legal action against the sheriff’s office, Stubbs said that is a consideration.
“We are right now refuting false information that was given by the police. It certainly looks like a lawsuit would be appropriate, but we don’t know that yet,” Stubbs said. “We anticipate there would be legal action. We can’t know for sure.”
Stubbs is not licensed to practice law in Idaho but is working in conjunction with Nathan Starnes, a personal injury attorney of Joe Frick Law, PLLC, of Boise.