SPIRIT LAKE, Idaho — Kootenai County Prosecuting Attorney Stanley Mortensen has ruled that the officer who shot and killed a Spirit Lake woman is justified under Idaho law.
The Spirit Lake Police Department (SLPD) responded to an apparent mental health crisis around 6:15 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2023, at a senior citizen apartment complex in Spirit Lake. After arriving, police encountered an older woman, later identified as 67-year-old S.A. Floyd.
The report from the prosecutor's office states that the woman shot at responding officers and that Officer James Windrem with the Spirit Lake Police Department "fired his weapon in an attempt to defend himself."
Officer Windrem and Spirit Lake Police Chief Michael Morlan responded to the scene after seeing a suicide threat call at the apartment complex. After trying to reach Floyd through a phone call, officers entered her apartment after a man at the scene let them in. Once inside the apartment, Officer Windrem kicked open a locked bedroom door. Once inside the room, Officer Windrem and Chief Morlan observed Floyd lying in bed and began calling her name. Floyd was slow to reply, according to the report from the prosecutor's office, but eventually acknowledged their presence after 10 seconds. Officer Windrem and Chief Morlan spoke with Floyd, asking her to come out from under the covers. After Floyd did not reply to their commands, Chief Morlan pulled the covers off Floyd and immediately observed a gun, according to the prosecutor's office report.
The report states that once Chief Morlan and Officer Windrem spotted Floyd's firearm, they began to leave the room, fearing they would be shot. Officer Windrem returned to the apartment's bathroom, but Chief Morlan fell inside the bedroom with Floyd while trying to retreat. The report states that Floyd fired the weapon but did not strike either Chief Morlan or Officer Windrem.
While trying to retreat, Officer Windrem went into the bathroom across the hall from the bedroom. The report said this put the officer in a "dangerous position" because he couldn't leave the bathroom without "presenting himself as a target to SA Floyd."
According to the report, Officer Windrem tactically peeked around the frame of the bedroom door to assess whether or not he could make it to safety. The officer said he saw Floyd moving on the bed with her gun pointed at his face and quickly returned to concealment. The report says he tried to look again and he saw that Floyd was trying to get out of bed with the gun still in her hand. The report states that Officer Windrem discharged his firearm five times in the direction of Floyd.
Officer Windrem continued to move laterally out of the bathroom and "into the hallway completely exposing himself as a Target to S.A. Floyd." As he did this, he could still see the gun in Floyd's hands and she was trying to get out of bed. While still moving out of the bathroom to a safer location, the report says Officer Windrem discharged his weapon 10 more times toward Floyd. The report says he stopped discharging his weapon "when he could no longer see SA Floyd's revolver pointed at him." He could see her on the bed as he retreated.
An investigation into the incident found Floyd was struck by "several bullets" fired by Officer Windrem.
According to the report, when deputies with the Kootenai County Sheriff's Office (KCSO) entered Floyd's bedroom after the shooting, her right hand was still gripping the gun she shot at the officers with.
"Officer Windrem and Chief Morlan had reason to believe that S.A. Floyd was a threat to herself and/or that she had already harmed herself," Mortenson wrote in the report. "Officer Windrem and Chief Morlan lawfully entered S.A. Floyds apartment for the purpose of checking her welfare, S.A. Floyd presented herself to be a deadly threat to Officer Windrem and Chief Morlan by pointing and discharging the revolver at them and/or in their direction. As Officer Windrem attempted to leave the apartment, S.A. Floyd continued to present herself as a deadly threat to Officer Windrem. As such, Officer Windrem was justified in using deadly force in order to stop S.A. Floyd and/or protect himself from S.A. Floyd. Therefore, I conclude that Officer Windrem and Chief Morlan committed no crimes in this matter."
The Spirit Lake Police Department is expected to hold a press conference Friday at 6 p.m. at Spirit Lake City Hall to discuss the shooting. The department says it will be sharing the press conference via live stream for those who are not able to attend.
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