STAR, Idaho — Scattered around Skip and Gina Banach's family home in Star are photos of their 39-year-old son Jeremy, who died after a police officer shot him on June 15, 2022.
"Did he have some problems? Yeah," Skip said. "He was a druggie; he had that problem. But he was still a great kid. He was a great son."
A year and a half after the shooting, the couple is fighting for an "unbiased, third-party review" of the case and changes to policing within the state.
Boise Police led a Critical Incident Task Force investigation into the shooting, and Valley County Prosecutor Brian Naugle reviewed the findings.
A letter from February 2023 showed Naugle found the officer who shot and killed Jeremy was justified in doing so because he "posed a real and immediate risk of death or serious injury to the Deputies and/or members of the public."
But Skip and Gina believe the investigation was "biased and flawed." That is why they started a petition in late November urging the Ada County Prosecutor to ask the Idaho Attorney General's Office to review the case.
"We want [them] to see whether this investigation really was a good investigation or see what was lacking," Skip said.
However, Twin Falls Prosecutor Grant Loebs — who was not involved in reviewing the case — said it does not work that way because the attorney general does not have any jurisdiction "over these kinds of offenses."
Loebs said police shootings are not typically looked at again after a prosecutor makes their decision about whether the officers or officer involved should face criminal charges.
"I've never seen it happen," he said, "except if there is additional information that comes in after that prosecutor has investigated, has read the investigation and made his determination."
The AG's office said it has reviewed two police shootings in the last five years. It was the first office to do so after being asked by a county prosecutor, which is allowed under state code.
In a statement to KTVB, Naugle said he thought the Critical Incident Task Force investigation was thorough and gave him all the information he needed to "properly determine whether the officers committed a crime under Idaho law."
The Ada County Sheriff's Office, which contracts with the City of Star, stated in a March 2023 news release the officer who shot and killed Jeremy did not violate any of its policies.
Skip and Gina still do not agree with the findings.
"He never pointed the gun at anybody else except for himself," Skip said.
Gina said there is an "epidemic" of police shootings in the Treasure Valley. The couple feels officers in Idaho are not held accountable when they shoot people, whether a prosecutor justifies a shooting or not.
They want Ada County to have a citizen review board to independently look into police conduct. Skip, a former officer, said hundreds of cities around the U.S. already have boards put in place.
The couple also thinks officers should undergo better training when responding to people in any crisis.
"Police officers need to be retrained in the use of de-escalation techniques," Skip said. "You don't go from zero to shoot."
Jeremy was shot more than an hour after Skip said they called the police because he was high. They wanted to get Jeremy court-mandated detox and rehabilitation.
We're not anti-police," Gina said. "We're not trying to do anything other than get justice for Jeremy and hopefully putting a system, procedures, training in place for law enforcement that hopefully it never happens again."
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