Deputies cleared in Shelley officer-involved shooting, Prosecutor says deadly force was justified
Seth Ratliff
SHELLEY, Idaho (KIFI) — Three Bonneville County and three Bingham County Sheriff’s deputies will not face criminal charges for their use of force in the shooting death of 35-year-old Talon Session. Bingham County Prosecutor Ryan Jolley has concluded that the deputies were justified in their actions after a thorough investigation by the Eastern Idaho Critical Incident Task Force.
RELATED — Man shot by police after trying to steal 4-wheeler is identified
The incident began late on the night of August 19, when the Bingham County Sheriff’s Office received a report of shots fired at a residence east of Shelley. A caller reported that a homeowner, Steven Demott, had exchanged gunfire with an unknown individual, later identified as Session, who was allegedly attempting to steal a four-wheeler.
Demott was shot in the kneecap, and deputies found him upon arrival. He was transported to a hospital by emergency responders for a non-life-threatening wound. Demott told deputies he believed the armed suspect, Session, was still in the area.
Search and Confrontation
With assistance from Idaho State Police and Bonneville County deputies, law enforcement began searching nearby fields. Due to the dark and remote location, law enforcement used a drone to illuminate the area, eventually locating Session lying in the brush downhill and to the west of the property.
Prosecutor Jolley’s report, made after reviewing multiple body-cam angles and drone video, details the final moments before the shooting.
As deputies approached, Session was seen holding a revolver. He initially appeared to struggle to move, but then rolled from lying on his pack onto his hands and knees. According to the report, he attempted to raise the revolver multiple times in the direction of the deputies.
The report identifies the following deputies as those involved in the shooting:
Bingham County Deputies
Deputy Tyler Moon
Deputy Elijah Cawthon
Deputy Jared Miller
Bonneville County Deputies
Deputy Jasen Smith
Deputy Kollin Gardner
Deputy Cameron Hunt
Throughout the encounter, deputies repeatedly yelled commands at Session to drop the weapon and show his hands, offering him medical attention and warning him that a K-9 would be deployed. Despite these commands, Session raised the revolver and pointed it directly at the deputies, who then fired a total of 30 rounds.
Jolley noted that while a subsequent investigation revealed Session’s revolver was out of ammunition at the time, this fact was unknown to the deputies. “All deputies knew is that he had already engaged in a gunfight that night, wounding the homeowner, and that he was still armed with the revolver, which he pointed at them,” the prosecutor’s report stated. “Without the benefit of hindsight, the deputies had to operate with the belief that he still posed a deadly threat to them, and anyone else should he escape the area…It appears to me, based upon the facts that he ultimately made the decision to end his life once confronted by law enforcement.”
Prosecutor Jolley’s report concluded that the deputies’ actions were justified under Idaho Code § 19-610, which allows for the use of “all reasonable and necessary means to effect the arrest” of a person who flees or forcibly resists, including deadly force under certain conditions.
“The justifications for the use of force in connection with this case are clear. Sessions refused to comply with the lawful commands of law enforcement and then presented an apparent deadly threat to them,” concludes Jolley. He also adds that had Session survived, he would have faced numerous felonies, including aggravated assault on law enforcement.