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Officers named in fatal shooting

Jeff Selle | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 11 years, 10 months AGO
by Jeff Selle
| June 20, 2013 9:00 PM

COEUR d'ALENE - The Kootenai County Sheriff's Office on Wednesday released the names of the two police officers involved in the fatal shooting of a Montana man on Lookout Pass last week.

Shoshone County Deputy Adam Durflinger and Idaho State Trooper Todd McDevitt were involved in the traffic stop that resulted in the shooting death of Alexander L. Mandarino, 26, from Whitefish, Mont.

McDevitt has worked with ISP for about 10 years, and Durflinger became a Shoshone County deputy last June.

Mandarino parked his orange Scion XD in a turn-out area near the top of Lookout Pass on Interstate 90 on June 12.

According to the Kootenai County Sheriff's Office, a crew working for the Idaho Transportation Department noticed Mandarino's car had been parked at the turn-out for an extended period of time and called the Shoshone County Sheriff's Office, asking them to check on the driver's welfare.

Durflinger arrived first on the scene. As he approached Mandarino, the deputy noticed that he was in possession of a handgun and a scuffle ensued, reports say. Last week, Kootenai County Sheriff's Lt. Stu Miller said other media reports that Mandarino was sleeping were untrue.

McDevitt, who responded to the scene to assist Durflinger, reportedly shot Mandarino, who later died from the gunshot wound. Neither officer was injured in the altercation.

Mandarino's uncle, John Andrulis, called The Press last week to discuss the issue.

"I think this should be looked into further," he said. "To me there seems to be more to this story."

He said his nephew was driving back from Seattle, where he had been visiting friends and family.

"He was a pretty good kid, and he would never harm anyone," Andrulis said. "He is definitely not known for being a gun carrier."

Andrulis said that Mandarino did suffer from bouts of depression, but he wanted to see the officer's dash-camera footage of the shooting before drawing any conclusions.

Kootenai County Sheriff Ben Wolfinger said on Monday that his department is still investigating the incident and dash-cam video would be available after the evidence is turned over to the prosecutor's office.

The matter was still under investigation on Wednesday and no other information was being released.

The Kootenai County Sheriff's Office is looking for other drivers who may have witnessed the altercation. Witnesses are encouraged to call the KCSO at (208) 446-1300.

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