EDITORIAL: Police justified in shooting suspect

Published 2:46 pm Sunday, January 14, 2024

The video from two Baker City Police officers’ body cameras hasn’t been released to the public, but the basic elements of the Jan. 2 incident, in which two officers shot and wounded a man during a traffic stop, seem clear based on statements from Baker County District Attorney Greg Baxter.

Baxter announced Jan. 10 that the two officers, Mason Powell and Mark Powell (they are not related), were justified in shooting Justin Douglass Burkeen, 30, of Boise.

Burkeen is being treated at a Boise hospital.

Both officers have been on paid leave as prescribed in the police department’s policy.

Baxter said the video shows that Burkeen, who was a passenger in the front right seat of a car that Mason Powell stopped about 2 a.m. at Clark and Church streets, pointed a pellet gun at Mark Powell as Powell stood on the passenger side of the car. Baxter said Burkeen fired a pellet that hit Powell.

Both officers shot Burkeen.

Based on the circumstances, Baxter’s conclusion that the officers were justified in shooting Burkeen is eminently reasonable.

Although Baxter said that Burkeen told the officers that the gun was not real — as in, not a firearm — the district attorney said the weapon looked like a regular firearm.

The more relevant issue, though, is what Burkeen did with the weapon. The officers could hardly be expected to trust Burkeen’s description of the gun.

When he pointed the gun at Mark Powell — and fired a pellet — the officers had ample reason to fire their own guns. It’s difficult, indeed, to imagine that they would have reacted otherwise under the circumstances.

Burkeen made a terrible mistake, and he should be punished for it.

Fortunately the mistake didn’t cost him his life.