A 16-year-old boy who was shot by a Bannock County Sheriff’s deputy after fleeing from a traffic stop in Chubbuck on Friday night is expected to survive, according to Bannock County Sheriff Lorin Nielsen.

Authorities have not divulged the boy’s identity.

Other than providing a medical condition update, authorities have remained tight-lipped in releasing any information surrounding the events leading up to the officer-involved shooting. But that didn’t stop about a dozen people from gathering at Caldwell Park in Pocatello on Monday evening to protest what they believe to be police brutality.

“We’re out here protesting police brutality telling people that we want the public to be safe from (police) as much as we are safe by them,” said Steven Findlay, one protester. “Police are the ones who are supposed to keep us safe so we want to make sure they are doing a good job at that. We don’t dislike cops in any way, we just want to make sure they are doing their jobs.”

The Journal arrived to the protest at 5 p.m. and observed three participants standing in Caldwell park holding signs. Protest organizers said more people showed up later and the final crowd was three times larger than expected.

Nielsen said he considers the small size of protest to be indicative of how much the community supports local law enforcement.

“I love this community and I think the public supports us,” Nielsen said. “If people want to protest, that is their right, but I think people realize that it will take some time until all of the facts come out regarding this incident. But none of us take the use of deadly force lightly.”

The Journal obtained contact information for the boy’s mother from a relative via social media on Saturday. The relative did not divulge the mother’s name. On Monday, the mother gave the Journal contact information for the family’s attorney but declined to comment, or to offer any information about her family.

The attorney, Quentin W. Lackey, of Nampa, called the incident a tragedy in a written statement provided to the Journal Monday evening.

Furthermore, Lackey said the juvenile who was shot and his family “think that it is necessary to permit the incident team to continue their investigation without undue pressure or undue influence from the public or any party involved.”

The East Idaho Critical Incident Team, which has representatives from all of East Idaho’s law enforcement agencies, is investigating the shooting. That investigation is being led by the Power County Sheriff’s Office.

Power County Sheriff Jim Jeffries, who is leading the team, declined to comment Monday and referred all media requests to Bannock County Prosecutor Steve Herzog. More information is expected to be released on Tuesday, Herzog said.

Lackey said the teenager who was shot wants to express his appreciation to the local community for their support and for hosting a protest on Monday after Friday’s incident.

“Though he understands and appreciates the inalienable rights of the people to peacefully assemble and protest what the people deem morally reprehensible, he and his family do not condone any violence, call to or request for violence against other people or persons in uniform,” Lackey said in the statement.

The shooting occurred around 9 p.m. Friday in the area of Whitaker and Siphon roads near Ellis Elementary School after the sheriff’s deputy pulled over a vehicle with multiple occupants, authorities said.

The Bannock County Sheriff’s Office said the 16-year-old boy who was shot was a passenger in the vehicle, which was driven by an 18-year-old man who was taken into custody after the shooting.

The Sheriff’s Office said that after the deputy pulled the vehicle over, the 16-year-old boy fled the from the vehicle, and the deputy chased him on foot. When the deputy caught the boy, an altercation ensued and ended with the deputy shooting the teenager.

The boy was rushed via Pocatello Fire Department ambulance from the scene to Portneuf Medical Center in Pocatello after the deputy shot him. The boy underwent emergency medical surgery, Lackey said.

Lackey said in his written statement that without the medical staff at PMC it is likely that the boy would have died.

“(The boy) would like to thank the doctors and nurses for saving his life,” Lackey said. “Without the training and skills the doctors and staff have received at Portneuf Medical Center, he would not have survived the shooting.”

Authorities on Monday declined to say how many people were in the vehicle, and none of the occupants of the vehicle have been identified by name. Moreover, authorities would not say whether the boy or anyone else in the vehicle was armed, and no charges have yet been filed against the 18-year-old driver or anyone else who was in the vehicle, authorities said Monday.

The name of the sheriff’s deputy who shot the boy has also not been released.

This incident is the third officer-involved shooting to occur in Idaho in the past 30 days, two of which were fatal and all of which reportedly involved a physical altercation between law enforcement and the suspect before shots were fired.

On Nov. 2, an Idaho State Police trooper, who has not been identified, shot and killed 35-year-old Jesse Jesus Quinton in Idaho Falls after Quinton allegedly fled on foot from a traffic stop and engaged the officer in a physical altercation.

On Nov. 19, a different ISP trooper who has not been identified, fatally shot Christopher Williams, 41, of Boise, who had evaded a traffic stop in Meridian and reportedly engaged police physically.

Bingham County Sheriff Craig Rowland, representing a neutral agency that hasn’t been involved in any of the recent officer-involved shootings, said he stands by the judgment calls recently made by officers of neighboring departments. When asked if the recent officer-involved shootings that began as physical altercations have law enforcement agencies rethinking how they handle those incidents, Rowland was direct in his response.

“No,” Rowland said. “If you’re an innocent person you don’t run. People run because they’ve done something wrong. In the officer’s mind, people who run have done something wrong and they are trained to pursue that individual.”

Rowland continued, “Every situation is totally up to the officer, but it’s instinctive for law enforcement to chase suspects. The officer has to make the decision in a split-second and what if they decide not to chase that person and that person goes out and commits another crime.”

Tim Marsano, the ISP public information officer, said law enforcement in Idaho are trained to meet force with force.

“If there is a lethal threat presented to them or to other members of the public, then they will likely respond with lethal force,” Marsano said. “The use of lethal force is not the first resort for our state troopers but when a law enforcement officer comes upon an individual member of the public, be it on the streets or at a traffic stop, that law enforcement officer can not be sure about whom he or she is dealing with.”

Marsano continued, “That highlights that these men and women who are out there serving the public are doing so at great perils to themselves and for those in public safety it means going into danger while it might seem normal for the layman to turn away from it.”