BCSO deputy is heading back to work

By CAROLINE LOBSINGER

Staff writer

SANDPOINT — Almost four months after he was shot while serving an arrest warrant in Blanchard, Bonner County Sheriff’s Deputy Michael Gagnon is heading back to work.

Gagnon received a full medical release to return to duty and will return to patrolling Bonner County on Sunday, Bonner County Sheriff’s officials said in a press release Friday.

“It’s a miracle and simply incredible that Mike has recovered so quickly from the injuries that he sustained less than four months ago,” said Bonner County Sheriff Daryl Wheeler. “It was in God’s providence that the lives of deputies Penn and Gagnon were protected and preserved that day of the shooting.”

Penn remains on medical leave. He is scheduled for more surgeries and physical therapy before his expected return to duty, BSCO officials said in the press release.

Support for the two deputies and their families by the community has been tremendous, officials said.

“Our office has been overwhelmed by the outpouring of community support for these two deputies and their families,” Wheeler said. “We are very blessed to live and serve in such a great community.”

Gagnon has been with the department for nearly two years and Penn has been with the department for more than five.

Gagnon and Penn were shot in an exchange of gunfire when, along with Deputy William Craffey, they attempted to arrest Adam Deacon Foster, 31, outside his Mountain View Road home on Jan. 16. The deputies had secured an arrest warrant for Foster in a year-old battery case.

Deputies resolved to arrest Foster because he told a family member he planned to kill a neighbor and threatened to kill anyone who stood in his way, including law enforcement officers, according to court records.

Foster bolted around the side of his home, assumed a shooter’s stance and opened fire on Gagnon and Penn with a .44 magnum revolver as they rounded a corner to apprehend him. The deputies returned fire and wounded Foster, who surrendered.

Gagnon and Penn were rushed to the hospital, where they underwent surgery. Penn was released after a few days; Gagnon was hospitalized for a week before his release.

Foster, who has been charged with two counts of attempted first-degree murder, was recently ruled “dangerously mentally ill.” Criminal proceedings against him have been suspended because his fitness to proceed or make informed decisions about his mental health are in question, according to court documents.

The ruling was made from the bench during Adam Deacon Foster’s competency hearing in magistrate court on March 23. The ruling suspends criminal proceedings against Foster until determinations are made whether he can understand the charges against him and assist in his own legal defense.

Foster is being held in an Idaho Department of Correction maximum security medical facility and IDOC will provide the court with a progress report on his mental health and his fitness to proceed.

Caroline Lobsinger can be reached by email at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter @CarolDailyBee.