Associated Press
COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho — A northern Idaho prosecutor has concluded the fatal shooting of a 19-year-old man by Coeur d’Alene police officers was justified.
Kootenai County Prosecutor Barry McHugh released the documents Friday involving the September 2012 shooting of Christian Nicholas Buquet, 19.
“Mr. Buquet posed an immediate and continuing danger to the lives of anyone who he may have come into contact with,” McHugh wrote. “There was absolutely no indication at that time that he intended to stop his continuing violent conduct or surrender to officers when they fired to stop him.”
The Coeur d’Alene Press reports police responded to a report of shots being fired in a Coeur d’Alene neighborhood.
Police said Buquet shot and injured another man and then fired random shots at other citizens. Four officers fired 77 shots at Buquet after a 5-mile car chase. He died at the scene.
The Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office released at 75-page summary of its investigation. The agency also released video recorded from cameras mounted on vehicles as well as officers.
Authorities said Buquet, after shooting 29-year-old Frank James in the chest, fled the scene and fired a semi-automatic pistol at three bystanders.
Buquet traveled east on Coeur d’Alene Lake Drive while being pursued by multiple officers. Video from the police cameras show several motorists having to evade Buquet’s vehicle as he drives on both sides of the road.
Buquet fired at police when he turned a corner, police said.
Buquet pointed a gun at them on a curve, but he crashed and hit a barrier cable and stopped, police said. Four officers positioned their vehicles around Buquet and fired.
“The loss of life is always tragic, and I extend my condolences to the friends and family of Mr. Buquet,” McHugh wrote. “At the same time there is a price to be paid by those who were compelled by circumstances beyond their control, their oath and a sense of duty to use deadly force. I hope my findings help in some way to bring closure to this incident.”