Relatives say an autistic and nonverbal teenage boy who was shot by Idaho police from the other side of a chain-link fence while holding a knife has died.

Victor Perez, 17, who also had cerebral palsy, had been in a coma since the April 5 shooting, and tests Friday showed that he had no brain activity, his aunt, Ana Vazquez, told The Associated Press. He had undergone several surgeries, with doctors removing nine bullets and amputating his leg.

The shooting outraged Perez’s family and Pocatello residents, and about 200 people attended a vigil Saturday morning outside the Pocatello hospital where he was treated. Another crowd of protesters gathered outside the Pocatello City Hall building, which also houses the police department, on Saturday afternoon. Police snipers were stationed on a nearby rooftop during the protest, though no violence was reported. Many of the protesters held signs with phrases like, “Do better, PPD” and “Justice for Victor,” and passing cars honked in acknowledgment.

  • themeatbridge@lemmy.world
    801·
    2 days ago

    Just a reminder, Blue Lives are supposed to matter less than everyone else. That’s why they sre issued a badge and a gun. They are supposed to put themselves at risk to protect the community. At least, that’s the story we’re told as kids. It’s the justification used to obtain our consent to be policed.

    If police are so afraid for their safety that they kill innocent civilians, even by mistake, then they do not deserve our consent. The do not deserve authority over us, they do not deserve the free use of force, and they do not deserve the legal deference provided them by our justice system.

    Blue Lives Don’t Matter, or it’s fascism.