‘Release report’ on cop killing of Idaho rancher

Protesters outside the Idaho Capitol in Boise May 20 demanded release of a report on the cop killing of rancher Jack Yantis near Council, Idaho, Nov. 1. State police gave the Attorney General their investigation results in early March. “They’re stalling,” Sharon Ketchum told the Idaho Statesman at the protest.

Yantis was killed when cops called him to the scene after a car hit one of his bulls. As Yantis aimed his rifle to put the animal out of its misery, one of the deputies grabbed him and spun him around, and the two cops fired. Donna Yantis, Jack’s wife, and Rowdy Paradis, his nephew, who witnessed the shooting, were thrown to the ground, handcuffed and not allowed to render aid.

An attorney for the cops, who are on paid leave, claims the family’s account is “not accurate in numerous material respects.” The Attorney General’s office says it won’t set a date to release the report to avoid “a rush to judgement.”

“If we don’t get a decision, we plan to have a rally every month at the Capi-tol,” Rebecca Barrow, who is active in the “Justice for Jack” fight, said in a phone interview.

“It’s on everybody’s mind,” Johanna Nielsen, a rancher and friend of the Yantis family, told the Militant from Council June 2. “It’s like a bubble waiting to burst.”

— SETH GALINSKY