Police testify in Rambo trial

COEUR d’ALENE — An officer who returned fire after Tyler Rambo’s gun went off in City Park reportedly did so because he believed a fellow officer who tripped and fell had been shot.

Wednesday was the third day in the trial of the teen who lost both legs after police shot him in City Park on July 4, 2019.

Rambo, 19, is accused of second-degree attempted murder and aggravated assault. He allegedly shot at a man during an altercation in the park, then ran from police, who said Rambo fired at them after being hit with a stun gun.

Much of Wednesday’s testimony centered on whether Rambo was incapacitated by a Taser when his gun went off.

Most of the eight officers who testified Tuesday and Wednesday said Rambo’s hands were near or above his head when he was shocked. Several said Rambo’s gun was pointed skyward at the time.

Defense attorney Rick Baughman described Rambo’s empty left hand as being lifted and extended in a “universal” gesture to wait.

Officer Justin Bangs, who said he forgot to turn on his body camera, said Rambo’s left arm was at his side and his right hand was in front of him, pointing the gun toward police, when the Taser hit him.

Body camera footage was played in court but was not visible to the audience.

Coeur d’Alene Police Officer Casey Ziegler said he initially drew his firearm when he and other officers formed a semicircle around Rambo, who had stopped running near the basketball courts.

But the park was too crowded to shoot at Rambo, Ziegler said, and he holstered his gun. He said Rambo was not complying with repeated commands to drop the gun or get on the ground.

“I had to end it,” Ziegler said. “I couldn’t end it by shooting, so I had to go for my Taser.”

Ziegler said Rambo’s hands were above his head but beginning to lower when he deployed his Taser. He said he fired as soon as he saw the red dot of a laser dancing on Rambo’s chest. Officers are trained to aim just below the sternum, he said, to maximize the Taser’s effect.

Rambo bent at the waist when the Taser probes hit him, Ziegler said, and his shoulders hunched. He began to fall backward.

Ziegler saw a flash as Rambo’s gun went off, he said. At the same time, Ziegler said he lost his footing and fell.

Bangs said he saw Ziegler fall and fired his own gun because he believed Ziegler had been shot.

Other officers said they returned fire almost immediately after Rambo’s gun went off.

“I was scared,” said Officer Jake Brazle. He said Rambo’s gun was pointed in his direction when it went off. “I was looking right down the barrel of the gun.”

Corporal Michael Grigg, the lead Taser instructor with Idaho State Police, also testified Wednesday.

He said Tasers work by sending electrical pulses along two wires, which are attached to probes that become embedded in a target. Both probes must be within an inch of the body to complete a circuit.

Neuromuscular incapacitation (NMI) occurs when a circuit is complete and electrical pulses from the probes stimulate muscles to contract uncontrollably. Grigg said NMI ranges in severity from losing the ability to stand upright to becoming unable to move at all. The effect depends on where the probes hit.

When fired, Taser probes spread one foot for every seven feet traveled. An optimal distance between probes is 12 inches or more, Grigg said.

“The more muscle I can get between those probes, the more effective those probes will be,” he said.

Ziegler estimated he was between 10 and 15 feet away from Rambo when he fired the Taser, meaning the spread between probes was likely 12 to 16 inches.

Data downloaded from Ziegler’s Taser showed when it was activated and when the trigger was pulled on July 4.

Logs presented in court reportedly showed the Taser functioned correctly and a circuit was completed for about two seconds. After that, Grigg said, data showed that the circuit was broken.

Grigg said he reviewed the logs in 2019, along with body camera footage from the night of the shooting.

“Clearly, in this case, (Rambo) loses his ability to stand and starts falling backward,” Grigg said, in reference to footage showed in court.

He added that footage appeared to show Rambo reach toward his chest with his left hand after being shocked. Grigg said he believed Rambo was reaching for one of the probes as a pain response, though he couldn’t pinpoint exactly where the probes hit.

Footage also showed Rambo attempting to catch himself with one hand as he fell, Grigg said.

“That tells me he still has the ability to move his arms,” he said.

When questioned by Baughman, Grigg said the arms coming in toward the body during a shock does not necessarily indicate that a subject is reaching for a probe.

Grigg also said he has observed instances in training where subjects were told to fire or not to fire a gun while being shocked with a Taser. Some subjects couldn’t comply with instructions, either firing unintentionally as their muscles clenched or finding themselves unable to fire.

Baughman asked Grigg if falling could result in the accidental discharge of a gun.

“Absolutely,” Grigg said. “That’s well-documented.”

When he testified before a grand jury in November 2019, Grigg reportedly described Ziegler’s Taser deployment as “successful.” At the time, he defined a successful deployment as one that renders the subject unable to resist.

Grigg qualified that description Wednesday. While the Taser functioned as intended and caused Rambo to fall, he said he also believed Rambo retained control of his limbs.

After the shooting, Officer Nathan Herbig said he emptied Rambo’s gun and dumped the bullets on the ground, where he left them for some time while he helped secure the scene.

Herbig said he did not count, photograph or document the bullets, but later returned and put them in an evidence bag.

Proceedings will continue today.