‘I can do whatever I want’: Idaho mayor arrested in gun incident at council meeting

An Idaho mayor was arrested last week after the City Council said he became “enraged” and threatened members with a gun during a regular meeting.

It happened in Butte City, a community of fewer than 80 people, according to national census data. Butte City is several miles outside of Arco.

Mayor Kevin Turner, 63, was charged with misdemeanor exhibition or use of a deadly weapon, according to a news release from the Butte County Sheriff’s Office, which said the situation was resolved with no injuries to deputies, first responders or the public.

“An investigation is being conducted into the actions of Butte City’s Mayor Kevin Turner, and further details will be released when appropriate,” according to the release.

Turner was appointed mayor of Butte City last year, after the former mayor, Steven Neal, moved out of the area. According to the Butte County clerk’s office, Turner had been a city councilman since 2012.

Court documents said Butte County sheriff’s deputies were called to the council meeting at 2731 8th Street last Thursday after a report that multiple people were “being threatened by the mayor ... with a firearm.”

At around 7:20 p.m., deputies arrived and spoke to a group of people outside the building, who said that Turner was inside and had threatened them with a gun. Deputies talked to Turner, who confirmed that he was armed but denied that he had been “waving a gun around,” according to court documents.

Turner was then checked for weapons and asked whether he had taken out a gun. Turner replied that he had “got it out and used his firearm as a gavel to bang on the table,” according to law enforcement records. Deputies said it was later clarified that Turner never took the gun out of the holster, and that he “held the barrel while banging the mag wall against the table.”

Turner told deputies he did this while firing City Council Member Steven Avery.

Deputies secured Turner’s gun, a loaded Hi-Point 45 ACP model JHP.

Nine people who attended the meeting provided deputies with written statements. These witnesses said they “took Kevin’s actions to be threatening and feared for their safety.” Court documents also said deputies obtained a copy of the audio from the council meeting.

According to court documents, in the audio, Turner can be heard “angrily yelling at Councilman Steven Avery and (a man and woman) alongside loud banging.”

“It appears that once they criticize Mayor Turner, that he becomes enraged and ejects Steven Avery and (a man and woman),” the court documents stated. “It appears that Erica Turner asks Kevin to calm down, and worriedly yells ‘Kevin!’ when the firearm is introduced.”

Police reports said that at the end of the confrontation, Turner can be heard saying, “I can do whatever I want to do; I’m the mayor!”

EastIdahoNews.com contacted the Butte County clerk, the Butte County Sheriff’s Office, the Butte County Prosecutor’s Office, the city of Arco, and the city of Butte City for a copy of the council meeting audio, which is a public record, but has not been able to get it.

The current listed phone number for Butte City has been disconnected.

During an interview with deputies the day after the meeting, Turner claimed he was “acting as the mayor to keep order in the meeting,” records showed.

Turner said a man interrupted the meeting to raise an issue. He told the man he could have time at the end of the meeting to address the problem, but the man “would not be silent.”

Turner also said that the man and his wife had “issued threats” to another woman who lives just outside of Butte City.

Turner claimed he was “starting to feel threatened by (the man’s) actions.”

EastIdahoNews.com reached out to Turner, who declined to comment.