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On August 19th, 2025, Idaho Falls Police Officers were responding to a suicidal man armed with a gun, who had reportedly pointed the gun at a woman, when an officer involved shooting occurred. Today, the Idaho Falls Police Department is releasing the 911 call and body camera footage as part of our commitment to transparency and in an effort to ensure our community is well informed about police incidents in Idaho Falls.
A video release, which includes the initial 911 call and sections of body camera footage from three officers, is available HERE l for those who would like to view it. The video does include some language and both video and written descriptions of an officer involved shooting. The video is not suitable for all viewers and discretion is advised.
The prepared video release is structured in a way to help viewers clearly understand the facts of the incident and only includes sections of the body camera footage that are especially relevant to understanding the incident, rather than the full videos which are 20 minutes and 51 seconds, and 20 minutes and 1 second respectively. Additional body camera footage, including the full uncut body camera videos from the involved officers and others on scene, are readily available for those who would like to view them in their entirety. Requests for that footage can be made on the Idaho Falls Police website.
At 10:11 p.m. on August 19th, 2025, Idaho Falls Police Officers responded to an apartment in the 100 block of Clubhouse Circle for a report of a man armed with a gun causing a disturbance. In the 911 call, the caller reported that the man had been acting erratically, had made suicidal statements, and had left the apartment armed with the gun. In a phone call with a responding patrol officer, the caller also stated that the man had pointed the gun at her at some point prior to the man leaving the apartment.
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Officers responded to the area and were looking for the man when he returned to the apartment shortly after 10:30 p.m. The caller reported that the man was pounding on the door trying to get inside. Emergency communications officers advised the caller, and children inside the residence, to stay inside and to shelter in place away from the door.
Idaho Falls Police Officers located the man outside the apartment, which was on the second floor, and attempted to speak with him and give him commands so he could be taken into custody. At approximately 10:50 p.m., one of the officers, Sergeant Gabe Klepich, attempted to use his police K9, who is certified in apprehension and narcotics detection, to apprehend the suspect. Sgt. Klepich sent his K9, but the K9 did not go up the stairs. Sgt. Klepich tried a second time to send the K9, and the K9 went up the stairs but did not bite or apprehend Zimmerman.
Sgt. Klepich was standing at the bottom of the stairs and directed Zimmerman to keep his hands where Sgt. Klepich could see them, and recalled his K9. Zimmerman was holding a handgun in his right hand where it was clearly visible to officers and made threatening statements.
Zimmerman fired a shot from his handgun toward officers at the bottom of the stairs. Two Idaho Falls Police Officers, Sgt. Klepich and Officer Dustin Cook, returned fire with their service weapons, striking Zimmerman multiple times.
Sgt. Klepich utilized his service handgun and fired three times. Officer Cook utilized his service rifle and fired four times. Carrying a patrol rifle is standard for law enforcement when they are confronting a person who is known to be armed with a firearm. Several other officers were on scene, including two who were carrying 40 mm launchers, which deploy a non-lethal projectile. Given how the situation unfolded, there was not an opportunity to use those less lethal options.
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The shot fired by Zimmerman appears to have been fired in the direction of Officer Cook. The bullet ricocheted and changed direction, impacting the siding of the building inches from where Sgt. Klepich was standing. The officers and K9 were not injured during the incident.
EMS personnel from Idaho Falls Fire, who were staged nearby, arrived on scene at 10:53 p.m., provided medical aid and transported Zimmerman to the hospital where he was declared deceased.
The incident is being investigated by the East Idaho Critical Incident Taskforce (EICIT) which is a team of investigators and professional staff from local law enforcement agencies who investigate police use of force and other critical incidents. For this incident, the Rexburg Police Department is leading the investigation with assistance from other regional law enforcement agencies. IFPD has and will continue to cooperate fully with the investigation, but takes no part in conducting the investigation.
The investigation will be reviewed by the Bonneville County Prosecutor's Office to determine if the officers' actions were justified under the law. That decision is expected to be released by the prosecutor at the conclusion of the investigation.
As is standard practice for IFPD, the names of the involved officers, individuals, and body camera footage has not been released by our agency until this point to allow investigators time to complete necessary steps in the investigation including interviews with involved officers and others, notification of next of kin, among other steps.
Derrand Zimmerman was a 46-year-old man who had been in Idaho Falls for a few months and who has resided in various locations around the United States. The Idaho Falls Police Department has met with his next of kin to share body camera footage, the 911 call, and available information regarding the incident.
The two Idaho Falls Police Officers who discharged their service weapons in this incident are Sergeant Gabe Klepich and Senior Patrol Officer Dustin Cook.
Sergeant Klepich has been an Idaho Falls Police Officer for 23 years and a patrol sergeant for 3 and a half years. He is a Master K9 Instructor, High Liability Instructor, and was a SWAT operator and sniper for over a decade. He and his K9 have been partners for the last nine years.
Officer Cook has been with the Idaho Falls Police Department for 17 years, with 10 years prior to that serving as a law enforcement officer at other agencies in Eastern Idaho. Officer Cook is a High Liability Instructor, a Master Firearms Instructor, and a member of the IFPD SWAT Team.
A video release, which includes the initial 911 call and sections of body camera footage from three officers, is available HERE l for those who would like to view it. The video does include some language and both video and written descriptions of an officer involved shooting. The video is not suitable for all viewers and discretion is advised.
The prepared video release is structured in a way to help viewers clearly understand the facts of the incident and only includes sections of the body camera footage that are especially relevant to understanding the incident, rather than the full videos which are 20 minutes and 51 seconds, and 20 minutes and 1 second respectively. Additional body camera footage, including the full uncut body camera videos from the involved officers and others on scene, are readily available for those who would like to view them in their entirety. Requests for that footage can be made on the Idaho Falls Police website.
At 10:11 p.m. on August 19th, 2025, Idaho Falls Police Officers responded to an apartment in the 100 block of Clubhouse Circle for a report of a man armed with a gun causing a disturbance. In the 911 call, the caller reported that the man had been acting erratically, had made suicidal statements, and had left the apartment armed with the gun. In a phone call with a responding patrol officer, the caller also stated that the man had pointed the gun at her at some point prior to the man leaving the apartment.
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Officers responded to the area and were looking for the man when he returned to the apartment shortly after 10:30 p.m. The caller reported that the man was pounding on the door trying to get inside. Emergency communications officers advised the caller, and children inside the residence, to stay inside and to shelter in place away from the door.
Idaho Falls Police Officers located the man outside the apartment, which was on the second floor, and attempted to speak with him and give him commands so he could be taken into custody. At approximately 10:50 p.m., one of the officers, Sergeant Gabe Klepich, attempted to use his police K9, who is certified in apprehension and narcotics detection, to apprehend the suspect. Sgt. Klepich sent his K9, but the K9 did not go up the stairs. Sgt. Klepich tried a second time to send the K9, and the K9 went up the stairs but did not bite or apprehend Zimmerman.
Sgt. Klepich was standing at the bottom of the stairs and directed Zimmerman to keep his hands where Sgt. Klepich could see them, and recalled his K9. Zimmerman was holding a handgun in his right hand where it was clearly visible to officers and made threatening statements.
Zimmerman fired a shot from his handgun toward officers at the bottom of the stairs. Two Idaho Falls Police Officers, Sgt. Klepich and Officer Dustin Cook, returned fire with their service weapons, striking Zimmerman multiple times.
Sgt. Klepich utilized his service handgun and fired three times. Officer Cook utilized his service rifle and fired four times. Carrying a patrol rifle is standard for law enforcement when they are confronting a person who is known to be armed with a firearm. Several other officers were on scene, including two who were carrying 40 mm launchers, which deploy a non-lethal projectile. Given how the situation unfolded, there was not an opportunity to use those less lethal options.
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The shot fired by Zimmerman appears to have been fired in the direction of Officer Cook. The bullet ricocheted and changed direction, impacting the siding of the building inches from where Sgt. Klepich was standing. The officers and K9 were not injured during the incident.
EMS personnel from Idaho Falls Fire, who were staged nearby, arrived on scene at 10:53 p.m., provided medical aid and transported Zimmerman to the hospital where he was declared deceased.
The incident is being investigated by the East Idaho Critical Incident Taskforce (EICIT) which is a team of investigators and professional staff from local law enforcement agencies who investigate police use of force and other critical incidents. For this incident, the Rexburg Police Department is leading the investigation with assistance from other regional law enforcement agencies. IFPD has and will continue to cooperate fully with the investigation, but takes no part in conducting the investigation.
The investigation will be reviewed by the Bonneville County Prosecutor's Office to determine if the officers' actions were justified under the law. That decision is expected to be released by the prosecutor at the conclusion of the investigation.
As is standard practice for IFPD, the names of the involved officers, individuals, and body camera footage has not been released by our agency until this point to allow investigators time to complete necessary steps in the investigation including interviews with involved officers and others, notification of next of kin, among other steps.
Derrand Zimmerman was a 46-year-old man who had been in Idaho Falls for a few months and who has resided in various locations around the United States. The Idaho Falls Police Department has met with his next of kin to share body camera footage, the 911 call, and available information regarding the incident.
The two Idaho Falls Police Officers who discharged their service weapons in this incident are Sergeant Gabe Klepich and Senior Patrol Officer Dustin Cook.
Sergeant Klepich has been an Idaho Falls Police Officer for 23 years and a patrol sergeant for 3 and a half years. He is a Master K9 Instructor, High Liability Instructor, and was a SWAT operator and sniper for over a decade. He and his K9 have been partners for the last nine years.
Officer Cook has been with the Idaho Falls Police Department for 17 years, with 10 years prior to that serving as a law enforcement officer at other agencies in Eastern Idaho. Officer Cook is a High Liability Instructor, a Master Firearms Instructor, and a member of the IFPD SWAT Team.
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