POCATELLO − Multiple community members gathered Thursday night at the Pocatello City Council meeting to deliver public comments regarding the police shooting of 17-year-old Victor Perez that took place earlier this month.

Perez, who had autism and cerebral palsy, died last week at Portneuf Medical Center after being shot by police on April 5 during a physical disturbance outside his family’s North Harrison Avenue home.

Several protesters gathered outside of City Hall prior to the start of Thursday evening’s City Council meeting and then moved inside for the meeting once it started.

Pocatello Mayor Brian Blad allowed those in attendance of the meeting to have two minutes each to provide comments on the Perez shooting instead of the typical three minutes allotted during the public comment period due to the large number of people who signed up to speak.

A total of 11 individuals spoke at the meeting while others gathered toward the back of the room holding signs, videoing the comments on their cell phones and cheering for each speaker.

The majority of the citizens’ comments requested that the names of the four police officers involved in the Perez shooting be released to the public as well as for their permanent removal from the city’s police force. More training for Pocatello police was also requested by the citizens who spoke.

The city has thus far refused to release the names of the four officers who responded to the physical disturbance outside Perez’s family’s home and shot him from behind a chain-link fence when he approached them holding a large knife.

The shooting was captured on multiple videos by witnesses. These videos subsequently went viral on social media, making nationwide headlines and attracting attention from the nation’s largest news outlets.

Kyler Johnson, a student at Idaho State University, was among those who spoke at Thursday’s meeting.

“Victor did not pose a credible threat to the police,” Johnson said. “The failure of all four police officers to rationally assess the situation and not just roll in with weapons drawn demonstrates to me and all members of this community that this issue is endemic across the department.”

Fathers and mothers, some of whom with autistic children present, said at Thursday’s meeting that the shooting has made them afraid to call the police.

Rose Eidemiller spoke on how a negative experience involving a Pocatello police officer and her son, who has mental health issues, has impacted them personally.

Eidemiller added, “I don’t want (the police) to shoot if they’re called to a domestic disturbance.”

Mayor Blad reassured the audience of the City Council’s sadness regarding what happened to Perez.

“Thank you for your passion,” Blad said to the audience at Thursday’s meeting. “We all feel the pain. I can assure you we all feel the pain.”