Cd'A police cleared in shooting

COEUR d’ALENE — Coeur d’Alene Police officers who shot and killed a fugitive last winter near Ironwood Drive were cleared through an independent investigation, according to the prosecutor in charge of the case.

The incident resulted in the death of 34-year-old Curtis Ware, who was shot through the lungs and heart. Officer Charles Hatley, who was fresh out of the police academy, was shot point-blank in the abdomen. He recovered and is back on the force.

Bonner County Prosecuting Attorney Louis Marshall found police were not culpable in the shooting of Ware, whose car was stopped by officers in the evening of Feb. 27 on East Hattie Avenue.

“In this case the evidence is very clear that Mr. Ware had a felony warrant, was involved in the illegal sales of narcotics, was armed, had a high level of methamphetamine in his system at the time, and decided for whatever reason he was going to resist and attempt to murder police officers engaged in their lawful duties,” Marshall wrote after reviewing evidence from an Idaho State Police investigation.

Third-party investigators routinely investigate incidents that occur in other departments. The reports are reviewed by independent prosecutors who decide if charges are warranted.

Coeur d’Alene police said the report helps the department.

“It provides a sense of closure for the officers involved and validates that their actions were necessary and appropriate to protect their own lives and the community at large,” Capt. Dave Hagar said.

Ware, a known drug dealer, according to authorities, with a lengthy criminal history that included prison time, immediately resisted arrest, pulled a .40-caliber Glock from his waistband and shot at officers. One of the bullets struck Hatley’s utility belt and pierced his abdomen.

Hatley and other officers, including Officer Taylor Beach, returned fire, striking Ware, who fled to a nearby apartment complex in the residential neighborhood and died of his wounds, according to the prosecutor’s report.

“Officers were able to make contact with the suspect … lying in the snow,” according to Marshall’s report.

Police attempted but failed to revive Ware using CPR. An autopsy showed he had been shot in the heart and lungs.

Marshall used body cams from officers to supplement ISP’s findings, he said. Ware almost immediately used a hidden gun to shoot at officers, firing 10 times as he ran away, according to his findings.

“Officer Beach and Hatley clearly had justifiable cause to use deadly force,” he wrote.

Coeur d’Alene Police will have a press conference Monday to release evidence used in the investigation, including body cam footage,

In an earlier interview, Chief Lee White said Ware’s lengthy criminal record, which resulted in a prison stay from 2004-2009, included drug possession, probation violations, charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm, eluding and forgery.

Ware’s two passengers, Kootenai County residents Trenton D. Szafransky, 23, and Eli W. Darby, 24 , were arrested at the scene on drug and paraphernalia possession charges. Szafransky pleaded guilty to possession of paraphernalia in accordance with a plea agreement. Darby pleaded not guilty to felony drug possession and paraphernalia. An August jury trial is scheduled.