2 Idaho officers were charged, but not convicted, in 2011 shooting
At least two police officers in Idaho have been charged in fatal shootings since 2000, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Boise said Monday.
The office responded to a Statesman story Sunday reporting that no Idaho law enforcement officer was known to have been charged in a fatal shooting in the past 16 years. The U.S. attorney said charges were filed in 2013 against two Nez Perce tribal police officers; neither was convicted.
In February 2013, Lewis County Prosecuting Attorney Zachary Pall filed voluntary manslaughter charges against tribal officer Robert C. Hall in connection with the Nov. 12, 2011, fatal shooting of Jeff Flinn after a car chase. A judge dismissed the case during the preliminary hearing, concluding that a reasonable person would react the same way Hall did, according to a May 2013 news report on the dismissal.
A federal grand jury indicted another tribal officer, Trevor Michael Garrett, for making false statements. According to the indictment, while the FBI was investigating the shooting, Garrett said he could not remember the shooting. A jury acquitted him in October 2013.
The Statesman story reported the findings of a new database the newspaper has prepared of officer-involved fatal shootings in Idaho since 2000. The database, the first of its kind in Idaho, is designed to be updated as the newspaper learns of additional shootings, and the Statesman learned of one Monday: On Jan. 3, 2001, George Timothy Williams was killed in a shootout with Jerome County Sheriff’s Office deputies who were serving a search warrant. Corporals James Brian Moulson and Philip Charles Anderson were killed in the shootout, too.
Williams’ death brings to 48 the number of people known to have been killed in officer-involved shootings since 2000. If you know of additional names, please contact reporter Cynthia Sewell.
Cynthia Sewell: 208-377-6428, @CynthiaSewell
FALLEN OFFICERS SINCE 2000
A reader criticized the Statesman’s new database for not including officers killed on the job. The Statesman did not include them because officer deaths are tracked statewide and nationally by several organizations, including the Idaho Peace Officers’ Memorial and Officer Down Memorial Page.
The officers known to have been shot and killed are:
▪ Coeur d’Alene Sgt. Greg Moore, 43, who died May 5 after he was shot by Jonathan Daniel Renfro during a traffic stop. Court documents say Moore was wearing a body camera that caught video and audio of his encounter with Renfro. A trial is slated for September 2016.
▪ Moscow police officer Lee Newbill, 48, who died May 19, 2007, after Jason Hamilton went on a shooting rampage, killing Hamilton’s wife, Crystal; Newbill; and Paul Bauer. Hamilton also injured two other officers and a University of Idaho student before killing himself.
▪ Jerome County Sheriff’s Office Corporals James Brian Moulson, 30, and Philip Charles Anderson, 23, were shot and killed Jan. 3, 2001, while they were serving a narcotics search warrant to George Timothy Williams. Upon entering the house, they were met with gunfire from the suspect. Williams was killed as well.
This story was originally published December 7, 2015 at 6:28 PM with the headline "2 Idaho officers were charged, but not convicted, in 2011 shooting."