Adams County pays $2.6 million to slain Idaho rancher’s family

Three years after two sheriff’s deputies shot and killed a Council rancher, a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family has been settled for $2.6 million. Adams County sheriff’s deputies Brian Wood and Cody Roland shot and killed Jack Yantis on Nov. 1, 2015, while the rancher was attempting to put down his bull that had been severely injured in a car crash. A car driven by a Nampa couple struck the bull on U.S. 95 in front of the Yantis ranch north of Council. County dispatchers had called Yantis, 62, at home to tell him to take care of the injured animal. He went to the road with his rifle to euthanize it. The deputies said Yantis held his rifle in a threatening manner and refused commands to lower it. They shot him 12 times. Following a nine-month investigation by Idaho State Police, the Idaho Attorney General’s Office and the FBI, both state and federal prosecutors announced they did not have enough evidence to file criminal charges. The two deputies no longer work for Adam County. Roland resigned one month after the shooting. Wood left after being on paid leave for 10 months following the shooting. County representatives would not say if he resigned or was terminated. The family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the county, Wood and Roland in October 2017. A federal judge dismissed the case on Nov. 20 because a settlement had been reached.
The Statesman confirmed the settlement amount Tuesday via a public records request with the Idaho Counties Risk Management Program, a self-insurance pool that insures local governments, including Adams County...MORE

Idaho deputies who shot, killed rancher face lawsuit

The family of an Idaho rancher who was fatally shot by two deputies on Friday filed a wrongful death lawsuit, accusing law enforcement officials of violating federal civil rights during and after shooting. Jack Yantis, 62, was killed two years ago after one of his 2,500-pound bulls was hit by a car and charged emergency crews on a highway just north of the tiny town of Council in west-central Idaho. Yantis arrived with a rifle just as deputies decided to put down the animal. Authorities have said there was an altercation, and Yantis and two deputies all fired their weapons. "Even assuming for the sake of argument that the deputy had probable cause or reasonable suspicion, the deputy used excessive force to seize Jack," states the 37-page complaint. "The deputies' subsequent use of deadly force to kill Jack was intentional, unreasonable, and contrary to clearly established law." The lawsuit comes a little more than a year after Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden decided there was not enough evidence to charge Wood and Roland following a four-month investigation. Roland and Wood have since left the sheriff's office, while Zollman was re-elected to his post several months after the AG's decision was announced. According to the lawsuit, Jack Yantis received a call from an Adams County Sheriff's Office dispatcher asking him to help with one of his bulls that had been struck by a vehicle. His wife, Donna Yantis, nephew Rowdy Paradis and a family friend all went to the highway. The lawsuit reiterates details in a prior tort claim, arguing that Jack Yantis stood on the highway behind the bull with his rifle aimed at the back of the animal's head when Roland grabbed Yantis and pulled him backward. Jack Yantis' rifle went off and the deputies shot at least 14 times and 12 of their bullets hit the rancher...more

Group still seeking justice one year after rancher killed by deputies

The 4-foot-high, 8-foot-wide sign is impossible for drivers on U.S. 95 north of Council to miss. Its three words in white letters are set against a bright red background and planted on the hillside of the Yantis family ranch: Justice for Jack. Almost immediately after rancher Jack Yantis was shot and killed by two Adams County sheriff’s deputies last Nov. 1, divisions arose in the rural county in west-central Idaho. Some people defended the deputies. Others called the killing of Yantis murder. The shooting received national attention at a time when police-involved shootings have divided communities around the country. Idaho State Police investigated the death for seven months before state and federal prosecutors announced in July that there wasn’t enough evidence to charge either deputy. That settled the criminal investigation but not the controversy.A citizen group that formed shortly after the shooting to support the family, Justice for Jack, was stunned by the July announcement, though members contend the truth about the shooting will eventually emerge and with it, justice. As news of the shooting and the subsequent investigation spread across the country, Justice for Jack’s membership grew, most of it through social media. Today it claims more than 3,400 members in Idaho, the nation and abroad — about equal to the population of Adams County. It was already dark shortly before 7 p.m. that Sunday, Nov. 1, 2015, when deputies Brian Wood and Cody Roland shot Yantis on U.S. 95. A car driven by a Nampa couple had struck one of Yantis’ bulls. County dispatchers had called Yantis, 62, at home to tell him to take care of the injured animal. He went to the road with his rifle to euthanize it. The deputies said Yantis held his rifle in a threatening manner and refused commands to lower it. They shot him 12 times...more

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Rancher's family sad deputies won't be charged

An attorney for the family of an Idaho rancher says their position that he was wrongly shot and killed by two sheriff's deputies hasn't changed since state and federal officials declined to charge them. Boise attorney Charles Peterson said Friday that the family of Jack Yantis was sad after learning the state's attorney general and U.S. attorney for Idaho wouldn't pursue a criminal case against the Adams County deputies. Yantis was killed after one of his bulls was hit by a car and the deputies tried to put down the animal. Peterson says Yantis' wife, Donna, "watched as her husband was gunned down, today's decision doesn't change that." Peterson says the family will finally be able to look at the evidence now that the investigation is complete.  AP

Family alleges wrongful death in Adams County rancher shooting

Citing wrongful death, assault, false imprisonment and emotional distress, the family of Jack Yantis is taking legal action against the Adams County Sheriff’s Office and its two deputies who shot and killed Yantis nearly eight months ago. Yantis’ wife, Donna, his daughters, Sarah and Lauretta, and his nephew, Rowdy Paradis, have filed a tort claim against Adams County, Deputies Cody Roland and Brian Wood and Sheriff Ryan Zollman. A tort claim is a precursor required by Idaho law to filing a lawsuit against a county or government agency. Here is what the claim says happened during the Nov. 1. shooting of 62-year-old Yantis, which took place on U.S. 95 in front of his ranch: A bull strayed from the ranch and was hit by a car. An Adams County Sheriff’s Office dispatcher called the Yantis house and asked Jack Yantis to take care of the bull. Jack, his wife, their nephew and a family friend, Joe Rumsey, were at the house when dispatch called. All four went down to the highway to assist. Yantis stood on the highway behind the bull with his rifle aimed at the back of the animal’s head. “(W)ithout any warning, provocation or justifiable excuse — Deputy [Cody] Roland suddenly stepped up behind Jack, grabbed him and jerked him around and backwards,” the claim states. “[Deputy Roland and Deputy Brian Wood] immediately unleashed a hail of bullets. They shot to kill. It is unknown how many times they fired. ... (N)o reasonable deputy would have feared for his safety. It was obvious Jack was not committing a crime and posed no threat to anyone. The deputies did not ask Jack to put the rifle down. They did not give him any other requests, commands or warnings. They did not fire any warning shots. They did not fire any non-lethal shots. They did not even give Jack enough time to regain his footing after Deputy Roland assaulted him.”...more 

HT: Marvin Frisbey

WWP Uses Rancher’s Death to Make Political Hay

by Frank Priestley

A fringe environmental group recently displayed its total lack of class, morals, ethics and intelligence by attempting to make political gain from the tragic death of Adams County rancher Jack Yantis.

The succession of events that led to Yantis’ death on Nov. 1, will have a profound effect on the lives of hundreds of people for years to come. Yantis’ wife, Donna, suffered a heart attack after learning her husband was dead. For the two motorists injured after a collision on State Highway 95 with a 2,000 pound range bull owned by Yantis, family members who witnessed the shooting, the two Adams County deputies who shot Yantis multiple times and many Adams County residents, it was a tragedy that will haunt them for the rest of their lives.

In spite of that, the next day, the Western Watersheds Project’s Idaho Director Ken Cole published an editorial blaming the incident on the open range law and calling on the state of Idaho to abolish the law. This attempt to make political gain from a tragic accident is despicable, sickening and crass.

...Western Watersheds Project’s stated goal is to remove all livestock from public land. Over the last several years they’ve argued in court against delisting wolves, grizzly bears and various other wildlife and plant species, in order to meet their stated goal. They don’t care about saving wildlife but they’re willing to make any number of false claims if they think it will help their cause.

Now they’ve shown us they’re not above using human death, grief and trauma as tools to reach their ends.

Frank Priestley is President of the Idaho Farm Bureau 

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Supporters of Rancher Killed in Officer-involved Shooting March Peacefully

A march and rally Saturday to support the family of a rancher who was fatally shot by deputies was peaceful and incident-free, ending with the group standing in quiet protest outside the Adams County Sheriff’s Office. About 75 people gathered for the march, prompted by the Nov. 1 death of Jack Yantis, 62, on the highway next to his ranch north of Council. Participants carried signs that read “Murder is legal if you’re a cop” and “What happened to de-escalation?” during a somber milelong walk along U.S. 95 from Council Elementary School to the Sheriff’s Office. “It means a lot,” said Alvin Yantis, 65, one of Jack’s older brothers. “We’ve had support from the whole country — a lot of prayers. It’s kind of kept us going.” Becca Barrow, a 30-year-old Kuna mother who grew up in Council, organized the rally through a Facebook page called Justice for Jack. Participants brought young children and dogs. “I’m here to support the family in getting the truth out,” Barrow said. “I am upset that they haven’t released the names of the officers.” Loraine Batt, of Nampa, brought her 84-year-old father, Dwight Moore, to the demonstration. “I just don’t know how a guy can come to shoot a bull and get shot himself,” Batt said. “I think it was an injustice,” Moore said...more

"He always had a smile on his face"; Family, friends remember Jack Yantis

A hard-working logger and rancher. A high school football star. A prankster. A family man. Those are just a few of the ways friends and family described Jack Yantis, the Council man who was shot and killed during an altercation with Adams County deputies in early November, at his memorial service Sunday afternoon. "He always had a smile on his face," said Buck Rekow, a friend of the Yantis family. "I never saw him in anything that wasn't a good mood." Jack spent nearly all his life in the small town. He graduated from Council High School in 1971, and worked as a logger and, more recently, a rancher until his death on November 1st. Friends and family remember him as a superb athlete and, as a boy, a bit of a troublemaker. Yantis' friends and his daughter Sarah spoke at the event, for which hundreds packed the Council High School gymnasium. People came from all over the state, including some from the Treasure Valley, to pay their respects. Some are sad and angry about Jack's death, believing deputies were in the wrong when they shot Jack that fateful night. With so much mystery still surrounding the case, others just want the community to be patient and stay strong through tough times...more

FBI investigating shooting of rancher by Idaho deputies

The FBI is investigating the shooting death of a central Idaho rancher by sheriff’s deputies for possible federal criminal violations by the officers. U.S. Attorney for Idaho Wendy Olson announced the federal investigation at a meeting with reporters Thursday at her office in Boise. The FBI’s investigation is in addition to an ongoing investigation by the Idaho State Police; the Idaho Attorney General is serving as a special prosecutor in connection with the ISP investigation. The ISP and attorney general will be looking at possible state criminal violations. Federal statutes that could be implicated include the federal prohibition on a law enforcement officer willfully and intentionally depriving a person of his or her statutory or constitutional rights. Intentional use of excessive force by law enforcement could violate the Fourth Amendment protections against illegal search and seizure. Olson offered no time frame for the federal investigation. “We want to be deliberate and thorough,” she said. As authorities sort through the evidence in the case, she said, “People will need to be patient.” Yantis’ family members, at least two of whom witnessed the shooting, said the deputies had unsuccessfully tried to shoot the bull, and as Yantis aimed his rifle to shoot it in the head, they accosted him and shot him...more

Couple in Adams County car-bull crash healing from serious injuries

Doris Garner has no memory of the vehicle hitting the bull, much less anything that came after, when a terrible collision took its far more tragic turn. Garner and her husband, Jack, were driving home to Nampa from a family visit in LaCrosse, Wash., near dusk on Nov. 1 when their Subaru collided with a bull on U.S. 95 in Adams County. Both suffered serious injuries. Doris faces two to three weeks more in the hospital, her sister, Shannon Ellis, said Thursday. Jack is home. “He just said they came around the corner and there was the biggest black cow. ‘I didn’t have time to do anything,’ ” Ellis said Jack told her. “He says he remembers everything going black when it hit up into the windshield.”...more

Town Hall meeting addresses shooting death of Council rancher - video

COUNCIL, Idaho - It has been over a week since the shooting death of rancher Jack Yantis. Tuesday night marked the first public address for Adams County Sheriff Ryan Zollman, who is in the middle of a firestorm in Adams County. More than 200 people turned out in Council for a town hall meeting conducted by Zollman, as he hoped to begin the healing process in this small town. Reporters were allowed to attend the community meeting, but not to record audio or video. Zollman said he held the meeting to stand in front of the community and show them he is committed to finding the truth about what happened. He also said he wanted to share what he could about the timeline and the process going forward. Zollman made a short statement to start, saying the case has been taken over by the Attorney General's Office, but that the investigation remains in the hands of Idaho State Police. He told the group gathered he had no new information to share about the investigation, and urged patience as the investigation continues. "This is going to be a long, drawn-out process," he said. "It's been over a week now. The community's got a lot of questions, a lot of concerns. They don't know what's going on." Lots of questions from citizens Tuesday night focuses on whether video evidence of what happened had been captured of dash and body cameras? The sheriff said that because dash and body cams were turned over to ISP immediately, he never had a chance to look at them and doesn't know if they were turned on during the confrontation. The meeting was contentious at times, but some residents also applauded the sheriff and his promise to find the truth. Zollman told the crowd once a report is released he will share it with residents first and then with the media. Sarah Yantis, Jack's daughter, was emotional after the nearly one-hour meeting. She told KTVB the sheriff didn't answer any questions. "I found him to be evasive [and] contradictory, and in the end I just asked him to look me in the eye when he lied to us," she said. Others in the community also expressed dissatisfaction with the sheriff's answers. "We really didn't find anything out," Council resident Don Mello said after the meeting...more

Here's the KTVB video report:

Residents still want answers after Tuesday night meeting about death of Jack Yantis - video

...When asked about body cameras, Zollman explained he did not know if body cams were recording during the incident. Several community members responded with concerns why Jack Yantis wasn't medically treated, or allowed to be aided by his family who were on scene of the shooting. After nearly 45 minutes of questions from the community, some residents became angry and walked out of the church. At one point, Zollman said, "We are innocent until proven guilty," which prompted laughter from several people in the audience. One individual asked Zollman if he would step down from the position if he hired, "two murderers," which Zollman responded as, "No. I will absolutely not." The daughter of Jack Yantis, Sarah, spoke to the media beforehand only a short distance away from where Jack was fatally shot by deputies on November 1st after an altercation occurred. "The road has been washed twice. It rained for a night and a day and his blood still remains here on the road and I believe this is where his blood is going to stay until he receives justice for this tragic and needless murder," Sarah Yantis explained...more

Here's the KIVI video report:

Left and right agree: Investigators should release Yantis killing video

America’s political left and right agree: Idaho State Police investigators must release video accounts of two Adams County Sheriff’s Deputies shooting and killing Council rancher Jack Yantis — if footage exists. Today, American Civil Liberties Union and the Cato Institute experts told IdahoReporter.com that police have a moral and legal duty to make the videos public if the devices worn by the deputies captured the killing. Chad Marlow, Advocacy and Policy Council for the ACLU, said if police block the release of any video it undermines the public’s trust in law enforcement. “The entire purpose behind [body cameras] .. is because they are helpful in increasing police transparency and accountability,” Marlow said. Adams County Sheriff Ryan Zollman told a local newspaper his deputies wore body cameras during the Nov. 1 confrontation with Yantis, but didn’t say whether the devices captured the incident. Matthew Feeney, a Cato Institute policy analyst, suggested police release the footage to any interested parties after a public records request, but also offered room for a compromise. In an email Feeney stated, “At the very least I think that the rancher’s next of kin should be able to view the body camera footage.” Marlow agreed, “It’s a basic human right to know what led to the demise of a family member.”...more

Rancher shooting will haunt Council community for long time

By Dale Fisk


Although U.S. 95 runs right through downtown Council, it is not a familiar place to many people in the Treasure Valley. And that’s OK with many of those who live here.

Council is nestled in between arms of the Payette National Forest, which surrounds the valley on three sides. It’s a very rural area, where many folks are conservative in their politics, independent in their lifestyles and don’t mind being left alone by a fast-paced outside world.

That very setting, on a major north-south travel route through the state — and through a national forest — spawned a chain of tragic events.

Every year, as autumn leaves begin to fall, cattle come streaming “home,” down from the grazing allotments that ranchers lease on the forest. Unfortunately, one of the travel routes they use is Idaho 95. Many of the cattle coming off the forest are black, and the combination of a black cow on the blacktop of a narrow, winding highway is a recipe for disaster. Nobody likes the situation, especially the ranchers who every year lose cattle that are hit by vehicles.

Just after dark on Nov. 1, a couple in a small car hit a large, black bull on the highway about 6 miles north of Council. The car was flattened like a tin can; the occupants and the bull were badly injured.
The bull belonged to Jack and Donna Yantis, whose short ranch driveway comes down off a low foothill onto the highway near where the bull was hit.

Jack and Donna grew up near Council. Jack was born here 62 years ago and was raised on a cattle ranch at Fruitvale — a wide spot on a side road that once had a post office and store. Jack, his two older brothers and a younger sister grew up on hard work under the guidance of their father — a World War II veteran who saw combat in a tank unit. The Yantis boys developed a deep-seated work ethic and a unique toughness. Each went on to operate ranches of their own in the Council area.

The scene of the crash was soon lit by the lights of ambulances, fire trucks and Adams County law enforcement vehicles. Just as the EMTs had loaded the occupants of the car into ambulances, several gunshot blasts shattered the night air a short distance away. What happened in those few seconds has been the source of disbelief, sadness and anger in the small community ever since.

Jack Yantis was shot several times by Adams County officers and died at the scene. Donna suffered a heart attack from witnessing this horror and nearly died.

Little of the whole tragedy makes any sense to local people. It’s common knowledge that an animal injured too badly to survive needs to be put out of its misery. And yet, it seems when Jack interrupted his dinner to do just that with a rifle, something went terribly and inexplicably wrong.

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Crisis mgt. team to help Sheriff’s Office after outcry over shooting of Idaho rancher

An officer-involved shooting that left a longtime Adams County rancher dead Sunday has shocked the community and brought a tidal wave of recriminations for the county’s small sheriff’s department. The Adams County Sheriff’s Office has been bombarded with angry calls and hate mail from people upset by the shooting, which left 62-year-old Jack Yantis dead on U.S. 95 in front of his home north of Council. Adams County Sheriff Ryan Zollman said people in the office are being called “murderers” and said the calls coming in forced one emergency dispatcher to leave her post Tuesday. “She was so upset,” he said. Yantis was one of two ranchers summoned Sunday night to a highway car crash that injured a bull; deputies were unsure whose animal it was, Zollman said. The bull was reportedly charging at first responders working to extricate two people from the Subaru station wagon that hit him. As deputies prepared to kill the bull, Yantis showed up — with a rifle. What transpired to cause Yantis and the two deputies to all fire their weapons is under investigation by Idaho State Police. On Tuesday, ISP said that anyone who was in the area around the time of the shooting should contact them at 208-884-7110. “It’s a supreme tragedy,” Council Schools Superintendent Murray Dalgleish said. “It’s a tragedy for the town. It’s a tragedy for the families. It’s inexplicable, and you’re trying to find some rationality. This is difficult, very difficult.  Yantis was also an expert logger, according to friend Buck Rekow. “Jack was probably about the best faller in this part of the country. The Forest Service still came to him to deal with problem trees,” said Rekow, a 36-year-old Emmett man who got to know Yantis while working for his son-in-law about a decade ago. Rekow said he admired the way Yantis lived. “He made his living from the ground and the woods,” Rekow said. “What he didn’t raise, he shot. He was an avid outdoorsman. He had a great deal of skill and knowledge about life on the farm and in the woods. That is truly an example of what an Idahoan should be.”...more

Read more here: http://www.idahostatesman.com/news/local/article43045458.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.idahostatesman.com/news/local/article43045458.html#storylink=cpy