Civil rights firm files wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of Victor Perez’s family
UPDATE: 3:15 PM
POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI) - Only a day after the funeral of the disabled 17-year-old shot by Pocatello Police officers, a major civil rights firm, Burris Nisenbaum Curry & Lacy (BNCL), has filed a wrongful death and civil rights violation claim against the city of Pocatello on behalf of the family of Victor Perez.
The firm represents Victor's guardian, Luis Alicea, his mother, Wanda Alicea; his sister, Monica Perez; and his aunt Ana Vazquez. The group was holding a family barbeque when Pocatello police officers shot the non-verbal autistic teenager, who also suffered from cerebral palsy.
The lawyers of BNCL have represented numerous families and victims of wrongful police shootings caused by the failure of police to follow basic legal and constitutional standards of policing, according to a release by the firm.
"The family wanted the police to help their son, not kill him," said John Burris, an attorney with 40-plus years of representing victims of police abuse, including representing Rodney King in his case against Los Angeles Police officers. "The officers’ conduct shocks the conscience of all families needing assistance with developmentally disabled kids.”
The four responding officers shot Victor Perez nine times. The lawyers of BNCL argue that when the shooting started, the 17-year-old's sister and mother were standing close to Victor and in the line of fire.
"Moreover, no de-escalation methods were attempted. Perez possessed a knife at the time of the incident. Mr. Perez was located behind a chain-link fence," write BNCL lawyers in a press release. "Mr. Perez presented with obvious disabilities and appeared incapable of posing an actual threat to the officers, who were on the other side of the approximate 4-foot fence."
Video from the scene shows 17-year-old Perez's own family was able to keep a distance from the knife and were not in immediate danger, argues the firm.
BNCL's filing argues that Perez posed "no significant threat to the officers to justify lethal force." Following the amputation of his leg and two additional surgeries, doctors determined that Victor was brain-dead. He was taken off life support on Saturday, April 12.
“The officers had obvious alternatives to the unconscionable decision to open fire on Victor, shooting him 9 times within seconds of arrival. Not once did they tell his family members that they would shoot if they didn’t move away from Victor, and there’s no chance that they really believed Victor was able to stab them from behind the fence. If the officers actually thought that, they would have stepped back, away from the fence, when Victor started to move toward them.” Civil Rights Attorney Ben Nisenbaum
"The way Victor was moving was consistent with a person who was developmentally and physically disabled, not some superman who would bound over the fence at them. We hope the investigation being conducted by the Idaho Attorney General recognizes the obvious: These officers criminally failed at their jobs and should be held to account for their actions in criminal court," said Nisenbaum.
Bannock County Coroner conducts forensic autopsy
The shooting incident is under investigation by the East Idaho Critical Incident Task Force. The Bannock County Coroner's Office has conducted a forensic autopsy for Victor Perez, as part of the medicolegal death investigation, according to a press update from Bannock County officials.
The autopsy was completed on Monday, April 14, 2025. The results and information obtained will only be provided to the investigating agencies involved and the Perez family.
"While there is significant national interest in this case, it is important to emphasize that it is being handled with the same level of consistency and diligence as all of our cases," write Bannock County officials.
