This has got to be one of the craziest dashcam videos I have ever seen. I am speechless.  

 

 

 

  Video from the dashboard camera of a Cottonwood Police Department cruiser showed a close-knit Idaho family that appeared nearly invulnerable to stun guns, police batons and fists during a melee in a Walmart parking lot March 21 in which one person was killed and one officer wounded by a gunshot.

Cottonwood Police Chief Jody Fanning showed the video during a news conference Friday morning and said no matter what tactics officers used, nothing appeared to deter the family of eight. The dash-cam was the only one of three that was operational that night, Fanning said.

 

 

Additional information - 

 

Four officers arrived at the Walmart after employees called about one of the Boise, ID, family members pushing an employee to the ground outside one of the store's bathrooms.

 

The family had gathered outside their older model Chevrolet Suburban when officers arrived. The confrontation started when one of the officers said they would split up the family to talk with them about what happened inside the store, Fanning said.

 

But the father, 55-year-old Peter Gaver, and one of his sons stepped in and told police they wouldn't allow them to separate the family, Fanning said. Another officer approached the mother, 52-year-old Ruth Gaver, and her 11-year-old daughter when one of the brothers ran in between them. 

 

Police Sgt. Jeremy Daniels grabbed the man and the melee was on, Fanning said.

 

The family utilized tactics that had to be "taught," Fanning said. For instance, they knew that punching officers on the body was futile because of their protective vests. Instead, the fought 

officers by grabbing at their eyes, ears and mouths and pulling hard.

 

They also had been taught to roll after they were shot with stun guns in order to break the wires and stop the shock, and to appear to give up by putting their hands in the air in order to get close to attack again. The family refused orders to "get on the ground" and eventually overpowered

Daniels. Two of the suspects, including Enoch Graver, battled the officer for his gun, which went off and wounded him in the leg.

 

Four more officers arrived and Enoch Graver, 21, was shot to death and his 18-year-old brother David Graver was shot in the abdomen.

 

Even with eight officers on the scene, nothing the officers tried appeared tostop the family, including the use of stun guns, pepper spray and police batons. In almost every instance, the suspects continued to fight the officers.Fanning said to four people to get one of the brothers in handcuffs and two officers to get the remaining male suspects in cuffs.

 

A Walmart loss prevention employee, whom Cottonwood police knew, was also key in preventing more harm being done to family members or the original four officers on the scene, Fanning 

said. The employee fought to protect the officers throughout the brawl.

 

Fanning said he was not only proud of his officers and the Walmart employee fortheir roles, but of the civilians who came to the aid of Daniels.

 

The family included the father and sons Jeremiah, 29; Nathaniel, 27; David, Enoch; a 15-year-old boy; mother Ruth Gaver, 52; and an 11-year-old girl.

 

All were living out of the Chevrolet Suburban and were members of a traveling band called Matthew 24 Now, a reference to a Bible verse dealing with the end of times. The band's Facebook page is 

rife with Biblical references.

 

Seven other Cottonwood police officers suffered cuts and bruises.

 

What are your reactions to this? 

This will definitely strike some controversy.

All I can say is wow, I think the officer who shot did the right thing, and to be completely honest, I think if I was in that situation, when that guy approched the two officers on the ground (The downed officer, and the officer providing care) I think I would have shot him. There was no way, they were gonna go down.

Edited April 11, 201511 yr by IndianaisMyState

'Murica.

 

But seriously this family lost someone because of their idiotic actions. It's honestly sad that they reacted this way, I doubt the family member who pushed the lady would have been charged anyway, the cops just wanted to know the story. All the cops wanted to do was talk, and this shit happens... smh

 

Also great job by the officers. They used pretty much every non lethal tool they had to try and stop it "peacefully"

Edited April 11, 201511 yr by BlackJesus1

Yeah, once the Officer's gun was taken there was no more need to attempt to exhaust their non-lethal options any further. As far as controversy I don't think this will stir up anything too big. I say that because race was not a factor, and the Officers were clearly in the right. Hats off to the Officers for using every use force, including verbal commands. 

Yeah, once the Officer's gun was taken there was no more need to attempt to exhaust their non-lethal options any further. As far as controversy I don't think this will stir up anything too big. I say that because race was not a factor, and the Officers were clearly in the right. Hats off to the Officers for using every use force, including verbal commands. 

 

Yes, and race should not play a factor in anything.

 

 

EDIT: But unfortunately people think is does.

 

 

Edited April 11, 201511 yr by AgentCharles

Yes, and race should not play a factor in anything.

 

Agreed, but it does.

Edited April 11, 201511 yr by McAwesome6934

It's like this whole family was on meth and then went on a rampage. You can clearly see how unrelentless they are, even with their ages. You can't really tell whats happeneing over all of the strange noises being emitted from the suspects. This is extramely unfortunate, but I agree that lethal force was authorized. The officers were outnumbered and many were pinned down multiple times. If one of these nut jobs got ahold of a gun there is no question that they would attempt to kill an officer.

Let me start by saying that this looks to be a case of a justified shooting, but that doesn't mean the police handled it perfectly (which could very well be impossible).

 

In almost every shooting, the police say the suspect went for their gun. A lot of the time this is a lie, but I wouldn't doubt it since we can obviously see how out of control the situation was leading up to it. Even though the cop was shot in the leg, it is important to note that at this time we don't know who fired the shot at the officer. It is very possible that in that mess of a situation, an officer accidentally shot a fellow officer, or an officer accidentally shot himself. We can't see in the video, so its important to wait for the facts.

 

Also, the fact that the family was white played a role in this. Come on, you can't tell me if this was a large black family the police would've spent all that time using the batons and tasers, and there are plenty of incidents that back that up. I applaud the cops on showing some restraint, they were definitely aggressive but at least showed restraint before using the lethal option. I just wish that they would show that kind of restraint and professionalism all the time.

 

This isn't a case of a perfectly justified use of force, or a case of excessive force. There are plenty of cases of excessive force, but this isn't one of them. This is just the reality of what police officers have to deal with sometimes.

In almost every shooting, the police say the suspect went for their gun. A lot of the time this is a lie, but I wouldn't doubt it since we can obviously see how out of control the situation was leading up to it. Even though the cop was shot in the leg, it is important to note that at this time we don't know who fired the shot at the officer. It is very possible that in that mess of a situation, an officer accidentally shot a fellow officer, or an officer accidentally shot himself. We can't see in the video, so its important to wait for the facts.

 

Also, the fact that the family was white played a role in this. Come on, you can't tell me if this was a large black family the police would've spent all that time using the batons and tasers, and there are plenty of incidents that back that up. I applaud the cops on showing some restraint, they were definitely aggressive but at least showed restraint before using the lethal option. I just wish that they would show that kind of restraint and professionalism all the time.

 

This isn't a case of a perfectly justified use of force, or a case of excessive force. There are plenty of cases of excessive force, but this isn't one of them. This is just the reality of what police officers have to deal with sometimes.

 

Even when all of the parties involved are the same race, race is still a factor. Law Enforcement just can't win can they? Even when they are fighting for their lives some people must focus on the amount of pigment in parties' skin. I do have to agree that they didn't handle it perfectly, but they utilized the resources they had, and exercised every use of force leading up to deadly force, multiple times. The Officer's life was endanger, no question about it, and the Officer that shot was undoubtedly in the right. The Officer was shot from his own weapon, so the partner shooting him theory is not an option. Whether or not the Officer accidently discharged it shooting himself is to be determined. But one thing's for sure, the two males on top of the officer were trying to get his weapon. Seeing their actions throughout the course of this altercation, it is safe to assume what they planned on doing with it. 

Law Enforcement just can't win can they?

 

No. No, they cannot.  Not with people just looking to blame the LEO's for everything they do, whether right or wrong.  Not with the media just portraying the Bad & ignoring the Good.

Dumbest family award goes to...

Also, the cops definitely needed more guys there, that was just chaos, I don't think that was handled professionally.

Wow, the family could of been just civil but it turned to killing, damn.

They tried using non-leathel actions, but when they went for the gun what were the officers going to do? They only had one option and they took it.

After watching the video and reading the information about it, I question the family's reaction more than I question the cops' response. I did note that the officer that came from the car which was filming this video did seem to be somewhat aggressive toward the crowd which was peaceful at that time, but turned violent after that.

As far as I'm concerned, that officer who was down on the ground being attacked by the group, had his life put in sever danger. The shooting was entirely justified.

 

I do, however, think this situation could have been avoided by the officers reacting in a more appropriate way when first arriving. Nonetheless, this is by far the most prolonged and dangerous fight I've seen in a long time. Believe me, trying to subdue one suspect on your own is difficult enough, let alone 8.

Well, I hate to say it but...... If the family had been black, there would've been riots again, and I'd be called a Cracker, Honkey, Pinky etc. This race baiting is getting out of hand.

 

But on the topic of the video, I believe the shooting was justified. The Officers tried everything else first, and I applaud them for not reaching for their firearms immediately.

As far as I'm concerned, that officer who was down on the ground being attacked by the group, had his life put in sever danger. The shooting was entirely justified.

 

I do, however, think this situation could have been avoided by the officers reacting in a more appropriate way when first arriving. Nonetheless, this is by far the most prolonged and dangerous fight I've seen in a long time. Believe me, trying to subdue one suspect on your own is difficult enough, let alone 8.

 

 

After watching the video and reading the information about it, I question the family's reaction more than I question the cops' response. I did note that the officer that came from the car which was filming this video did seem to be somewhat aggressive toward the crowd which was peaceful at that time, but turned violent after that.

But, let me bring this point up, before the officers arrived on scene, what had happened? Had the Walmart LPO been hit? Had they been attacking and when the officers arrived, they were acting all good? Most don't think about what happened before they got there? Had someone waved a weapon? Had dispatch alerted to the officers about something going wrong? I'm not saying this did happen, but what if it did, maybe that's why the officer went in aggressively? 

The shooting seems justified. It's evident that officers used tasers and other non-lethal methods to try and subdue the suspects before resorting to lethal weapons, which only happened because one of the family reached for an officers gun. My only question is if anything was happening behind the suburban? you see some of the family and officers go out of sight behind it.

But, let me bring this point up, before the officers arrived on scene, what had happened? Had the Walmart LPO been hit? Had they been attacking and when the officers arrived, they were acting all good? Most don't think about what happened before they got there? Had someone waved a weapon? Had dispatch alerted to the officers about something going wrong? I'm not saying this did happen, but what if it did, maybe that's why the officer went in aggressively? 

 

Officers were already on scene when the other two cruisers responded without any emergency lights activated. That would suggest to me that neither dispatch, nor the officers on scene felt like there was enough threat to justify an I-grade response. 

 

Had a weapon been seen on one of the offenders, then I would be very surprised if they walked straight into the group and tried to separate them, rather than employ some form of tactical crowd control. The original call was that of 'family members pushing an employee to the ground outside one of the store's bathrooms.' which would be considered an assault - though not a particularly violent one, keep in mind, in a majority of these stores there is extensive CCTV coverage and should a weapon have been used then it would have most definitely been seen.

 

Where the officers are so clearly outnumbered, I think it was the wrong decision for the officer to attempt to separate the group after he had been warned by two of the suspects not to.