Shooting officers identified
David Cole | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 12 years, 8 months AGO
The Kootenai County Sheriff's Department on Thursday named the three officers who shot a fugitive in Hayden following a lengthy pursuit.
The fugitive, 33-year-old Justin Earl Nicholas Todd of Coeur d'Alene, was killed in the shooting after being struck multiple times.
Cpl. Michael Thomas Keys, an Idaho State Police trooper, and Post Falls Police Department officers Aaron Ogle and Bradley Johnson all fired shots at Todd.
ISP spokesman Curtis Kastens said Keys is a North Idaho patrol officer who was hired in March 2006.
Post Falls Police Chief Scot Haug said Ogle has been with the department since January 2009, and currently is a senior patrol officer. Patrol officer Johnson started as a reserve officer in May 2010, Haug said.
At the conclusion of the chase, Todd's white 1989 Nissan Sentra skidded to a stop in a yard at the end of a cul-de-sac in Hayden's Caravelle Estates, which is between Honeysuckle and Prairie avenues west of North Ramsey Road.
The officers got out of their cars and approached Todd's car at St. Estephe Court and Bordeaux Drive. Todd backed up rapidly, then pulled forward, striking Keys with his car, said sheriff's department spokesman Ben Wolfinger.
Investigators are waiting for official autopsy results before releasing any more information regarding how many times Todd was hit by gunfire. Toxicology results also are pending.
The sheriff's department, which is leading the investigation, said Kootenai County Prosecutor Barry McHugh will review the incident. McHugh would consider the officers' use of force.
McHugh, however, said he will likely forward the case to another county prosecutor because his office works with local law enforcement agencies regularly.
Todd had an extensive criminal history, including 23 previous bookings as an adult and 25 warrants charging him with a variety of crimes.
At the time of the chase and shooting Monday there was an active warrant in Kootenai County charging Todd with felony eluding.
ISP tried to stop Todd after his car tripped an alert system on Interstate 90 that detects stolen vehicles and fugitives. In this case the system was activated for a wanted person.
A chase started after Todd refused to stop.
The two Post Falls officers joined the chase, which last nearly 20 minutes.
A female passenger had been riding with Todd. She was uninjured.
A search of Todd's car, which had recently been painted white from blue, uncovered a wig, clothing, false identifications, three cell phones, drug paraphernalia, and six cans of black spray paint, Wolfinger said.
Investigators also found a knife, a brass knuckle-stun gun combination weapon, and a police scanner that was set to local law enforcement frequencies.