In recent weeks, the Boundary County Sheriff’s Office and Bonners Ferry Police Department have received a surge of complaint calls — mostly out-of-state — after old BFPD body camera footage of routine traffic stops that escalated into physical altercations went viral on social media.

One video from April 2022 shows a Boundary County driver who had been pulled over for running a stop sign. After police deemed the driver showed aggressive and noncompliant behavior, the man was removed from his car, pinned down and hit repeatedly. 

In a video from November 2021, a female driver with out-of-state plates was pulled over for speeding on U.S. 95. After arguing with the officer, the video shows the driver beginning to roll up her window, at which point the officer holds the window down, causing the glass to burst. 

In the April 2022 case, the driver did not file a tort claim – the legal action a citizen can take to press charges against a city agency. Since the case is three years old, and the time for filing a tort claim is six months, no action at this point can be taken by the driver, according to Idaho Code. 

As far as handling the situation internally within the police department, Boundary County Undersheriff Brian Zimmerman, who at the time of the incidents was the Bonners Ferry Police Chief, said everything was already dealt with years ago. 

“It’s all old news,” he said. “Whenever we start in law enforcement, we learn as we go. The shattered window was accidental, and we addressed it then and there. This was four years ago.” 

Patricia Small, the driver involved in the 2021 stop, did file a tort claim within the appropriate timeframe against the city, as well as against Zimmerman and the officer involved in the incident, Scott Davis, according to Bonners Ferry records. 

“During the traffic stop, officer Scott Davis caused extensive damage to Small’s vehicle including a shattered driver window and damage to both driver side doors,” the tort reads. 

The total claim against the city amounted to $16,326.62, records show.

Boundary County Prosecuting Attorney Andrakay Pluid said that to the best of her knowledge, the tort claim did not ultimately lead to a lawsuit. It was either paid out by the city’s private insurance provider Idaho Counties Risk Management Program, or it was denied and Small chose not to sue, or the two parties reached some kind of settlement.  

The city does not know definitively what came of the tort claim because its private insurance provider ICRMP is not bound by the same public records laws as the municipalities it represents.

ICRMP denied the Herald's request to access its records related to Small's May 2022 claim.

“Any time that you feel that you’ve been wronged by an employee of a government agency, your remedy is to file a tort claim under the Idaho Tort Claims Act,” Pluid said. 

Although the incidents in question happened outside too long ago for a new tort claim to be filed, the condensed body camera videos have circulated to tens of thousands of people online over the past few weeks. One YouTube video posted April 13, which is condensed and edited, has almost 70,000 views, and many others have at least a few thousand. Consequently, social media users have posted thousands of comments. 

“He intentionally escalates things,” reads one of the top comments on the most-viewed video. 

“I’d fear for my life too if they beat me and tased me over a stop sign violation,” reads another top comment on the same video. 

Some individuals have also gone beyond social media to call the local department offices. 

“The sheriff had a whole bunch of voicemails here a few weeks ago, and there were only one or two locals,” Zimmerman said. “The rest were over in places like Connecticut and Virginia and from people that are anti-police.” 

Many of those commentors and callers are demanding changes to the personnel and codes of conduct within the department.  

“There’s really nothing to say,” said Bonners Ferry Police Chief Willie Cowell, who has received critical phone calls directly. “Personnel issues are addressed internally, and they are not discussed with media outlets or the public.” 

The ultimate administrative authority for city agencies belongs to Mayor Rick Alonzo, who said he is not involved in the day-to-day operations of the police department, so he has not had to take part in the situation yet, which he described as a “constantly evolving investigation.” 

“We’ve got a few disgruntled people out there, and this stuff gets out on social media, and it gets blown out of proportion,” he said. “I stand behind our police department. Not everybody might agree with that because if you get pulled over and get a ticket, you might not like it, but the police officers are doing their jobs.”