By Kerri Sandaine
Lewiston Tribune, Idaho
LEWISTON, Idaho — The first bullet that hit him felt like a hard punch to his chest.
The second one, which took out his kneecap, was like receiving a vicious smack with a baseball bat.
But Lewiston Police Officer Josh Rigney, who was ambushed at his home on April 17, 2019, said he’d go through all of the pain and long recovery again if it meant he’d still be the only cop (or innocent bystander) injured.
The 30-year-old father of four recently reflected on the day his life and family were suddenly thrust into a shootout with a man they’d never met, along with what he’s learned.
Rigney, who was working for the Nez Perce Tribal Police at the time, was off duty and taking a nap around 4 p.m. when he heard loud banging on the door of his duplex at 3513 11th St. in the Lewiston Orchards. He grabbed his “concealed carry” pistol, a Springfield XDS 9 mm, and answered.
“I can never catch a break to nap,” he said with a smile, shaking his head.
After the loud knock, the man outside, later identified as Daniel Cook Jr., asked Rigney if he was the “cop with the kids,” saying he wanted to talk. When Rigney opened the door, Cook was standing in the gap between Rigney’s marked patrol pickup truck and his wife’s car.
“I’d never met Danny Cook before,” Rigney said. “I went outside and saw a guy who was faced away from me at the time. I said, ‘Can I help you?’ ”
Cook turned around “super quick,” and asked whether Rigney worked for the tribe. Then he made a move for his gun.
“I immediately knew he had a gun based on my training and his furtive movement. No one is going to do that and pull out the good book of God.”
Cook, who had a history of violence, started firing.
“The first one hit me under my armpit and came out my mid-to-lower back,” Rigney said. “It was a good wallop that broke five ribs and nicked my left lung. I remember thinking, ‘This guy just shot me,’ and it immediately pissed me off.”
Cook shot 16 times, using a semi-automatic .40 caliber handgun.
Rigney fired off five rounds in return.
“It was the first time I ever round-counted. My duty belt was inside, and I was trying to get to it, planning to shoot over my shoulder, when the second round went through my left knee. It took out my quadricep tendons, and my leg was useless.”
Once through the door, Rigney crawled to the top of the stairs, where his duty belt was stored in a laundry room. Cook took off, heading toward another shootout with law enforcement in a busy Orchards location. When Cook left that scene, he was dying in an ambulance, and pronounced dead at the hospital.
Lewiston police reports showed at least 20 shots were fired and bullets were found in multiple vehicles, homes, businesses and a cable box in the path of the shooting spree that spanned from the 3500 block of 11th Street to the Nez Perce County Fairgrounds. Cook, 36, died after the shootout with police in front of the Nez Perce County Fairgrounds on Burrell Avenue.
Meanwhile at the duplex, Rigney was instructing his wife to call 911. It was a Wednesday afternoon, and she had been home with a sick child that day. The older two girls were playing in the backyard when all hell broke loose. Their youngest child wasn’t born yet.
Rigney said it’s a blessing the girls weren’t in the house. They typically run to answer the door, hoping it’s pizza or a package.
During the chaos, Rigney’s wife, Amanda, grabbed their 6-month-old baby and hid her behind the refrigerator. “She kept a level head and got the older girls inside and had them sit behind the fridge too.”
A neighbor arrived to help, and by then Rigney was lying at the top of the stairs with a duty-issued Glock in his hand, unsure if he would be facing a friend or foe.
“My neighbor, Mark (Skogrand), has a big heart, and he was brave to step into that kind of situation. He is a super awesome guy.”
Lewiston police were quickly on the scene, followed by medics. The first medic through the door was Ryan Rhodes, a familiar face. He and Rigney had worked security together at a concert at the Clearwater River Casino.
“He had body armor on, which was the coolest thing,” Rigney recalled. “They got me loaded up pretty quick.”
Rigney’s stint as a medic in the Navy Reserves and combat training helped the young police officer stay calm during the ordeal. He was spitting up bright, red blood, but he knew he wasn’t on death’s door.
“I never got freaked out. I took some deep breaths and talked to the medics. They had to insert a decompression needle into my lung. I do remember that. It was a big needle. I also remember hearing the radio and a medic telling me, ‘They got him. He’s down.’”
At St. Joseph Regional Medical Center, Rigney saw more friendly faces. He used to work there as a phlebotomist and he knew a lot of people.
When the painkillers kicked in, Rigney broke the tension in the emergency room.
“I said, ‘Hey everybody. This is my wife. She has big boobs.’ I was high as a kite.”
The third-generation police officer recalled his dad, Mike Rigney Jr., and his mom, Pam, who was in Moscow with her church group, arriving at St. Joe’s about the same time. His best friend, Jared Aubertin, who is a Pullman police officer, headed back to the Lewiston-Clarkston Valley from Coeur d’Alene as soon as he heard about the shooting, making the trip in record time.
“One thing I wish I could’ve seen is the amount of people in the waiting room,” Rigney said. “It would be very humbling. When tragedy strikes, this valley comes together.”
He spent 10 days in the hospital, underwent six surgeries, and lost two-thirds of his kneecap.
Rigney’s brother, Eliah, and Amanda took shifts staying at night, as well as countless friends and family who stayed by his side throughout the day at the hospital. “I was never alone,” he said.
Now mostly recovered, Rigney is running again, healthy and a Strongman competitor.
“It always hurts, but I guess I’m just used to it,” he said of his knee.
Rigney was the only officer hit that day, and no one near the Nez Perce County Fairgrounds or on the busy Thain Road was injured during the shootout except Cook.
“I’d do it all over again with the same outcome,” Rigney said. “Cook was throwing lead all over the place. He was on a rampage, and it’s a miracle no one else was hit.”
Home attacks on law enforcement are rare, especially in Idaho. The only one anyone could remember around here happened in Idaho County many years ago, he said.
Rigney said he’s grateful for all of the support he received from the community and first responders. The first morning he was awake in the hospital, his godfather, Craig Kingsbury, was standing by the bed. He’d traveled from Twin Falls, where he is chief of police, to check on the wounded officer.
By his side was Rigney’s father, who works as undersheriff and chief deputy for the Nez Perce County Sheriff’s Office. He previously worked for the Lewiston Police Department.
Rigney’s late grandfather, Mike Rigney Sr., started the family tradition as a Lewiston police officer. His grandson joined the city force a year ago, after about three years with tribal police and more than six years in the Navy Reserves.
“I’m very thankful for my wife, and I’m glad I had my pops around. He raised his boys right. Staying in the fight and having a warrior mentality is huge. You should always be on guard. Another thing I’ve learned is that you can’t let it make you bitter. You have to balance humanity and compassion with this job.”
Rigney never returned to the duplex after the shooting. (His parents, in-laws and friends helped Amanda move.) The family now lives in the Clarkston Heights. Their children — three girls and one boy — range in age from 3 to 8.
“After it happened, Amanda’s parents let us stay at their house for two months while we looked for a new place. We really appreciated that.”
Another thing that changed after the harrowing incident is how Rigney perceives movies featuring gun violence.
“If anything, I criticize movies more now,” he said. “Walls don’t stop bullets. Vehicles don’t stop bullets, and we do run out of bullets.”
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