BOISE -- An police officer who killed a Meridian man during a gunfight this summer has been cleared of wrongdoing in the shooting.
Officer Kyle Mikowski was shot twice in the legs by 33-year-old Daniel Isaiah Norris before returning fire, fatally wounding Norris.
Twin Falls Prosecutor Grant Loebs, who reviewed the shooting, wrote in a report that criminal charges against the officer were not warranted.
"I have concluded that the actions of the Meridian Police Officer who was attempting to apprehend Norris were justified in responding to Norris's flight and his subsequent attack on the officer," Loebs wrote. "The Meridian Police officer's actions were necessary and legal both in self-defense and in defense of the community which would have been endangered had Norris continued to flee after shooting the officer."
MORE: Injured Meridian officer 'recovering well,' released from hospital after traffic stop shootout
The shooting happened the afternoon of July 1.
According to the investigation, Mikowski spotted a black and blue Dodge Durango parked at the Courtyard Marriot Hotel on Eagle Road at 1:23 p.m. that day. A records check of the license plates revealed that the registered owner of that SUV had a warrant out for his arrest. In addition, the plates came back to a white Durango.
When the Durango drove out of the lot, Mikowski followed, ultimately flipping on his lights to pull the vehicle over. Instead of stopping, the driver sped up, turning right from Maple Grove Road onto Cannel Island Street, then left onto Crimson Rose Avenue.
At about 1:34 p.m., the Durango stopped near an access road. Norris got out of the back seat and a woman, later identified as Jerica Lee, got out of the front passenger seat.
"Norris had a black, cylindrical like item in his hand and was shifting the black item from one hand to the other hand," Loebs wrote.
The Durango drove away and Norris and Lee began walking quickly down the access road. As Mikowski parked his patrol car. Norris dropped the black object and took off running.
The officer chased after him.
As Norris ran, he was heard calling out to the pursuing officer "don't do it, don't do it!"
Nedim Cavcic, who was working on a house under construction in the area, noticed the commotion. Moments later, Norris ran to the side of the house he was working on.
“I looked back and that's when I saw Officer Mikowski running after him and yelling for him to stop," Cavic told KTVB after the shooting.
Cavcic hear Mikowski shout to the suspect that he would Tase him if he did not stop and get on the ground.
Norris did not stop, so the officer Tased him, causing him to fall to the ground.
As Norris fell, he rolled to the right and opened fire at Mikowski.
Loebs wrote that Mikowski saw "bright flashes of light" and realized he was being shot at. He was hit by bullets in both his lower legs.
Mikowski shot back, firing eight times in all, and hitting Norris six times. Norris died at the scene from a gunshot wound to the head.
Cavcic, who had witnessed the shooting, ran to help the injured officer.
"He was bleeding quite a bit, but he said he wanted to keep an eye on the guy in case he moves. When the suspect took his last breath, I went up and moved the weapon so it's not close to him, and then I got back to Officer Mikowski and we were trying to control the blood," Cavcic said. "I took my shirt off and laid him down and put it underneath his head."
Investigators learned that Norris had fired four times, hitting Mikowski twice. An autopsy later determined that Norris had used methamphetamine and amphetamines before his death.
Mikowski was rushed to Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center, where he underwent surgery for the wounds to his legs. He was released from the hospital the next day, and is continuing to recover, Loebs wrote.
The shooting was investigated by the Critical Incident Task Force, led by the Ada County Sheriff's Office.
