New details on man killed by Pocatello, Idaho police

POCATELLO

Authorities have released the name of the man who killed a police officer Friday on Center Street in Pocatello.

Police Chief Roger Shay said at a press conference Sunday that the man was Matthew E. Planer, 52, of Pocatello.

Shay said officers were dispatched to an apartment complex at 729 East Center Street after dispatchers received a call about a verbal dispute between a man and a woman. The woman who called dispatch said she answered the door and Glider was there. He grabbed her phone but she managed to force it back.

Shay said the man was described as acting erratically and possibly intoxicated. The woman did not see any weapon on him at that time.

Officers arrived around 12:45 p.m. and interviewed the woman. Officers learned that Planer lived in the building on the third floor.

Officers went to speak with Planer and his behavior was described as erratic. After the officers explained that he would be receiving a citation, Planer was asked if he preferred to receive the citation in the police car or wait inside his home. He decided to wait indoors, Shay said.

One officer stayed behind while another officer went to the police cruiser to issue a citation.

As Planer continued to walk around his residence, an officer who stayed behind spoke to him and Planer continued to act erratically, according to Shay.

Planer then turned and grabbed a medium-sized chef’s knife from the sink and raised it, police said. The officer and Planer were only a few feet apart, and the officer fired a single shot into Planer’s chest from his service weapon.

Both officers tried to save lives, Shay said.

The name of this officer has not been disclosed. The East Idaho Critical Incident Task Force is investigating the shooting, with the Idaho Falls Police Department as the lead agency.

An autopsy is scheduled, Bannock County Coroner Tory Danner said.