SPIRIT LAKE, IDAHO — The community gathered together at City Hall on Thursday, November 9, 2023, to hear from several officials regarding the critical incident on Wednesday, November 1, 2023.
The press conference was called for the purpose of clarifying information, and included Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris, Kootenai County Prosecutor Stanley Mortensen, Spirit Lake Mayor Jeremy Cowperthwaite, and Spirit Lake Police Lieutenant Eric Reade.
According to Norris, there was a need to correct some misinformation published by local media sources, which had then spread to social media. The intent was for the public to be made aware of the process that occurs when there has been a critical incident, especially one which involves an officer discharging their weapon, or when a call for service ends with a fatality.
The details of the incident remain scant. What is known at this time is that a 67-year-old female, Sa Floyd, who lived alone in multi-unit retirement housing, is deceased, and two Spirit Lake police officers are on paid administrative leave. Kootenai County Prosecutor Stanley Mortensen explained that ethical and professional duties preclude releasing detailed information that could compromise the investigation, or any potential prosecution.
It was disclosed by Norris that the next of kin was the individual who called for service, which was the initial action that caused officers to respond. The call for service was received at 6:14 p.m. on November 1, 2023. Two Spirit Lake police officers arrived at 6:27 p.m., and a report of an officer-involved shooting came in at 6:34 p.m. The Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO) was notified of a critical incident, and arrived on scene at 6:47 p.m., a full 13 minutes after the report of an officer-involved shooting.
Norris addressed the mechanisms of investigations into critical incidents. The North Idaho Critical Incident Task Force, which is made of officials from most law enforcement agencies within Kootenai County, and the other northern Idaho counties, coordinates the investigations. This investigation into the officer-involved shooting is being conducted by the KCSO, as the involved agency does not investigate its own incidents. Investigations are objective in nature, catalogue factual information, and do not go into subjective analysis. “The investigation is a memorialization of the event,” stated Norris.
After the investigation into the incident is complete, the report is sent to the Kootenai County Prosecutor’s Office. Once Mortensen has the report, his office does a legal review of the factual evidence, to assess whether or not the circumstances warrant the prosecution of criminal charges.
Separate from the critical incident investigation by the KCSO, there is an administrative review of the incident by the involved agency. In this case, the Spirit Lake Police Department will select another law enforcement agency to review the use of force by their officer(s). Lt. Reade said the department is under tremendous strain with only three active officers at this time. There is a new hire scheduled to begin December 1, 2023, and Reade made comments indicating the officers on administrative leave will likely be back around the same time.
