TWIN FALLS, Idaho — Body camera footage from a deadly officer-involved shooting in Twin Falls has been released publicly for the first time.
The Twin Falls Police Department published several perspectives of body camera video worn by officers during a confrontation that turned deadly on April 29.
Warning: Some of the content discussed and shown in this story may be disturbing. Viewer discretion is advised.
Video shows police attempted to serve a felony arrest warrant to 29-year-old Colton Copeland Foster, who refused instructions and can be seen holding a knife.
WATCH | Twin Falls officer bodycam footage released after deadly April shooting
"Drop the knife! Colton, you're under arrest, drop the knife," officers can be heard saying in the footage.
Police Chief Matthew Hicks said officers worked to resolve the situation before using deadly force.
"Officers directed him to drop the knife more than 40 times," Hicks said.
Officers attempted non-lethal methods first. At that point, Copeland Foster jumped over a fence into an adjoining property, where he was stopped by another officer and a K9 unit. The bodycam footage then shows the moments Copeland Foster — still holding the knife — started moving erratically toward the officers, who fired their weapons in response.
Deputy Chief Gassert said the department wanted the public to understand the full scope of the encounter.
"We wanted to show that our officers went above and beyond spending over an hour to try and communicate with him," Gassert said.
Copeland Foster's mother, Kimberly, spoke with me after watching the video for the first time.
"Yeah, it was, I'm like, No. I still think it's not ok, it's wrong. It's not Ok, they did not have to do that at all, not even close. I mean, you're trained professionals," Kimberly said.
Kimberly is considering her legal options.
The Critical Incident Task Force investigation, led by the Cassia County Sheriff's Office, found the officers' actions were legal and justified. The Ada County Prosecutor also reviewed the investigation, and Twin Falls PD conducted its own internal review.
"And then our internal review, determined that all officers in this situations acted accordingly and within department policy," Gassert said.
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