No answers after Spirit Lake shooting
SPIRIT LAKE — More than week after a woman died amid an “officer-involved shooting” in Spirit Lake, city and county officials remain tight-lipped.
A crowd of more than 50 people gathered Thursday night at Spirit Lake City Hall for a news conference with Spirit Lake Mayor Jeremy Cowperthwaite, Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris and county prosecuting attorney Stan Mortensen. But officials declined to answer any questions about the Nov. 1 shooting and the death of 67-year-old Spirit Lake resident Sa Floyd.
Mortensen said revealing any details would compromise an ongoing investigation by the North Idaho Critical Incident Task Force. The Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office is the lead agency for the investigation.
“When incomplete information, unverified information, irrelevant information or information that would be inadmissible at a possible trial is released to the public, it compromises the investigation and possible prosecution and unnecessarily heightens public condemnation of those involved in the incident,” Mortensen said.
Norris said Floyd’s “next of kin” contacted police around 6:14 p.m. Nov. 1, for what the sheriff’s office has previously described as a “suicidal threat call.”
Minutes later, two Spirit Lake police officers arrived at Floyd’s residence, an apartment in a retirement facility where she reportedly lived alone.
The shooting occurred at 6:34 p.m., Norris said. Police have not confirmed who fired the shots or whether anyone was hit. No officers were injured, according to the Spirit Lake Police Department.
Floyd was “found deceased” inside her apartment, according to KCSO. Her cause of death has not been publicly confirmed, nor has the time of death.
A deputy sheriff arrived at the scene at 6:47 p.m., Norris said.
“Your Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office was not involved in the original incident,” Norris said. “We are the agency who is investigating this particular incident.”
The Spirit Lake police officers, who have not been named publicly, remain on administrative leave, which officials said is standard procedure after any critical incident. They are expected to return to work after a mental health professional determines it’s appropriate for them to do so, according to the police department.
Meghan Acala, who lives near the residence where the shooting occurred, said she’s frustrated by the lack of communication from law enforcement.
The night of the shooting, Acala heard a helicopter and went outside to see multiple police vehicles and an ambulance. The activity continued for about three hours, she said, with no information from police about what was happening. She didn’t understand why she and her neighbors didn’t receive an emergency alert from the sheriff’s office with basic information, as they have for other incidents.
“I understand things have to be kept close to the chest because people can run wild with information,” Acala said Thursday night. “But I think to keep the trust of the public, the people that you are here to protect and serve, you do have to make the most of the resources that you have.”