Arfee: Case closed?

COEUR d'ALENE - The shooting of a pet dog outside a Sherman Avenue coffee house by Coeur d'Alene Police Department Officer Dave Kelley was not a reasonable use of force, Coeur d'Alene Police Chief Lee White announced during a Friday press conference.

On July 9, Kelley - responding with Police Recruit Officer Jason Weidebush to a report of a suspicious van parked outside the business - shot and killed Arfee, a black Labrador owned by Craig Jones. Jones was inside Java on Sherman at the time of the incident and was unaware of what was unfolding outside.

"An argument can be made that Officer Kelley's decision to shoot was reasonable when the dog lunged through the partially open window mere inches away from his face and throat," White said, during the press conference in the Community Room of Coeur d'Alene Public Library. "However, given the totality of the circumstances, the use-of-force reviews found Officer Kelley's use of force to be out of policy in this incident."

Kelley, who is from California and has 17 years of experience as a police officer, has been employed by the Coeur d'Alene Police Department for seven years. According to City Attorney Mike Gridley, Kelley is still employed with the department.

Gridley added that the city cannot comment on any potential disciplinary action because Kelley still has the opportunity to appeal those actions.

"I can say that in my brief interactions with Officer Kelley, I have found him to be a man of honor and integrity," White said. "I will tell you that he has been deeply affected by this incident."

Arfee's owner told The Press through text messages Friday that he was working in Minnesota and hadn't had time to completely review what was released.

"It sucks to try and work with tears in your eyes," Jones said. "There is no good news for me. My best friend was brutally killed."

The five other officers who were involved in the incident are also still employed with the department. Gridley could not comment as to whether or not disciplinary measures were being pursued against any of them.

After the shooting, Coeur d'Alene Police Department Lt. Robert Turner was tasked with conducting a use-of-force investigation. During the course of the investigation, he examined Arfee at the Kootenai Humane Society, made measurements of the van, reviewed all of the incident reports and initial interviews, and interviewed Kelley multiple times.

In his use-of-force report, Turner wrote that he "cannot dispute" Arfee's head came out the window and came close to Kelley, who then made a "split-second decision" to fire at the dog. The question Turner asks in the conclusion of his report is whether or not that was a reasonable reaction.

"It is my professional opinion that it was not reasonable," Turner wrote. "Officer Kelley, a seasoned officer of over 15 years of experience, was in an open parking lot with an open business, in the middle of the day, with citizens around and Officer Weidebush on the other side of the van. This was a case where Officer Kelley did not have anything behind him to prevent him from gaining distance..."

Turner concluded that Kelley's actions were not in accordance with the department's use-of-force policy.

On Aug. 22, a "Use of Deadly Force Review Board" was convened in accordance with police department policy, to determine whether or not Kelley's actions were in violation of department policy and procedure.

The board was comprised of three members of the Coeur d'Alene Police Department and one member of the Kootenai County Sheriff's Office. They unanimously concluded that Kelley's "actions were in violation of the department policies reviewed."

Robert Bragg Jr., who has worked with the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission since 1981, was asked by city officials to conduct a third-party review of the results of Turner's investigation.

In his report, Bragg wrote that he agrees with Turner's findings that Kelley used questionable tactics and unreasonable use of force during the incident.

At Friday's press conference, Chief White announced several initiatives he hopes will help begin rebuilding the public's trust. He said he'll call for more community input on any future use-of-force review boards, and they will make sure future press releases are vetted to ensure the information is accurate.

"This event has shaken the community's confidence in our police department," White said. "But the relationship between our community and our department will ultimately be strengthened as a direct result of how we respond to the situation and how we improve our agency to prevent similar situations from occurring."

In the aftermath of the shooting, Keila Long, a friend of Jones, created a Facebook page called "Justice for Arfee." The page had 2,229 followers on Friday and Long said she was happy about the released information.

"I started this page to try to help my friend and finally we have some justice happening," Long told The Press Friday. "This is an enormous step in the right direction."

• What went wrong: A third-party perspective

Robert Bragg, Jr., a longtime employee of the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission, was asked by city officials to give his analysis of the shooting at Java on Sherman. Bragg pointed out a variety of questionable tactics used by Officer Dave Kelley in what he called "a suspicious vehicle call with no report that there was anyone who posed a serious or deadly threat."

Those observations are as follows:

* I saw insufficient reasons why Officer Kelley chose not to announce his presence or knock on the van to elicit a response in order to clear the van. As such his approach created the jeopardy he asserts existed at the time he fired his weapon.

* I saw no reasonable explanation as to why Officer Kelley did not simply take evasive movement in order to avoid the perceived threat.

* I did not find evidence that Officer Kelley discussed a plan of action with Officer Weidebush prior to approaching the van and therefore did not advise Officer Weidebush ahead of time that he was drawing his gun or was clearing the van through the windshield.

* The weather was good and I am unsure how Officer Kelley expected to see into an unlit van with heavily tinted windows.

* Officer Kelley reported that there were multiple vehicles in the parking lot and "a lot" of people in the area.

* While Officer Kelley stated that he knew Officer Weidebush was on the passenger side behind the B Pillar or by the passenger door, it is unlikely he had visual confirmation at the time he fired his gun.