SHOPLIFTER KILLED BY POLICE by; Rick McCann www.privateofficer.com

TWIN FALLS, IDAHO JULY 4 2007------ - A shoplifting suspect at WinCo Foods pointed a loaded .38-caliber revolver at two police officers, who then opened fire and killed him Saturday afternoon, Twin Falls Police Chief Jim Munn said Monday.The fatal shooting of Logan Brizzee, 19, of Declo, in a WinCo security office adjacent to the retailer's customer service counter, represents the first officer-caused death in

Twin Falls since February 1993.Police were called to WinCo on reports that Brizzee had stolen $50 of merchandise. Munn said Brizzee pulled a concealed gun and pointed it at officers. Munn could not confirm whether Brizzee pulled the trigger.Brizzee faced a felony warrant for his arrest for failing to appear in court on a Minidoka County robbery charge.Minidoka County Prosecuting Attorney Nicole Cannon said Monday that more was at stake for Brizzee than a shoplifting charge. During a robbery investigation last year, she said, Brizzee tried to climb a roof and scale a fence."It wouldn't surprise me that he would be trying to evade detection," Cannon said.Brizzee had accepted an offer from her office to testify against his co-defendants in the armed-robbery case, she said. "I know that he was fearful for his safety in testifying against them."How Saturday unfoldedSaturday afternoon, suspecting Brizzee of shoplifting, WinCo security workers brought him into their office and waited for police. Citizen arrests are legal in Idaho, but law enforcement exhorts the public to use caution."The shopkeeper has the right to detain people who they catch," said Twin Falls County Prosecuting Attorney Grant Loebs. "They can detain them forcefully. It's not a practice we are excited about because it puts citizens in danger."Witnesses told investigators Brizzee was uncooperative by the time the first officer walked into the store, according to the press release.Store security held Brizzee until the officers arrived at 2 p.m. Saturday. Neither staff nor police knew Brizzee was armed, Munn said. And when veteran Twin Falls police officer Steve Benkula and rookie officer Ben Mittelstadt came into the store they did not know that Brizzee was wanted in Cassia and Minidoka counties on several felony charges and at least one misdemeanor."The officers were developing information," said Twin Falls Police Capt. Matt Hicks. "They did not know he had the warrants."The officers told Brizzee he was under arrest, Munn said.Brizzee "rapidly stood up, backed away from the officers and pulled a handgun from his waistband and pointed at the officers while in very close proximity," said a police press release. "At that time, both officers pulled their weapons and fired."They called dispatch and administered first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation - using an automatic external defibrillator - until medics took Brizzee to St. Luke's Magic Valley Regional Medical Center where he was declared dead from his wounds.Police shut down the store while they interviewed witnesses and collected evidence. At 8:30 p.m., the store re-opened with minimal property damage but having experienced a big scare. For a while at least, the store is increasing security, said Michael Read, a WinCo spokesman in Boise.

Tweet

Subscribe to receive free email updates: