Man stable after police shooting

POST FALLS — Police shot a man Thursday night who reportedly expressed suicidal thoughts and threatened to kill deputies.

The man, who has not been publicly identified, is in his early 20s.

He was transported to Kootenai Health, where he reportedly remains in stable condition.

Deputies with the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office and a Post Falls police officer responded around 10 p.m. Thursday to a report of a man walking down a Post Falls street with a gun to his head.

The man reportedly called 911 while officers were searching for him in the area of West Riverbend Avenue and South Elm Road.

He said police were looking in the wrong place but refused to give his exact location.

In a recording obtained by The Press, the man told a 911 dispatcher that he was armed with a handgun and intended to shoot or be shot by police.

“You guys have a choice,” he said in the recorded call. “A deputy dies or I die. When they get here, either I shoot at them or they shoot at me.”

He went on to say that he “always aims to kill.”

“You better get here soon or there will be lots of deaths,” the man said.

Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris said Friday that deputies are trained in de-escalation techniques to be used when responding to a person who is experiencing a mental health crisis or who is under the influence of a substance.

“With persons in extreme mental distress, sometimes those techniques don’t have the impact we would hope,” Norris said in a news release.

Norris said he could not reveal further details about the circumstances of the shooting.

“We are thankful the individual is in stable condition and hope for his recovery and future health,” Norris said.

An investigation is ongoing.