A domestic disturbance call on Dec. 22 in Idaho Falls resulted in an Idaho Falls Police officer discharging his service weapon one time and hitting the suspect on the left side of his chest.

Eduardo Trejo de Arcos, 26, died from the shot minutes later.

Idaho Falls Police Chief Bryce Johnson held a media briefing Thursday at the Idaho Falls Police Complex to publicly release the initial 911 call, body camera footage and the name of the officer who shot De Arcos.

Officer Eric Rose, a 13-year veteran, shot De Arcos after he lunged forward toward a knife that was 14 inches long end-to-end with an 8-inch blade immediately after Rose informed him that he was under arrest, as shown by bodycam footage.

A physical struggle between De Arcos, Rose and his partner began after de Arcos grabbed the knife.

Rose yelled for de Arcos to drop the knife twice, but he did not and continued to struggle with officers.

Officers were able to disengage from the physical fight and pushed de Arcos away from them into the kitchen.

The bodycam footage showed de Arcos turned back toward the officers with the knife raised in his right hand.

It was at that point when Rose fired and struck de Arcos.

“The officers are trying to arrest the suspect who had been accused of felony domestic violence, aggravated assault, strangulation, perhaps some other misdemeanors,” Johnson said.

Officers responded to the apartment in the 700 block of Cleveland St. at 5:17 a.m. on Dec. 22, in response to a 911 call from the father of the woman who lived with de Arcos at that address.

She had texted him that de Arcos was threatening her.

Officers knocked on the door and identified themselves as police officers when de Arcos answered the door. He let the officers into the apartment and acknowledged that he and the victim had been arguing.

Rose went into the bedroom to speak to the victim, while a second officer stayed in the front room with the suspect. A third officer arrived a short time later, checked in with Rose, and then returned to the front room

The victim told Rose that de Arcos said he was going to kill her and that he had choked her with one hand while holding the large knife near her head in his other hand while they were in the bedroom.

The victim told Rose she believed de Arcos had taken the knife with him to the front room when officers knocked on the door.

Johnson said officers did not see the knife upon entering the apartment.

Officers radioed to dispatch that a shooting had occurred and asked for EMS to respond. EMS arrived a short time later and took over lifesaving efforts. However, de Arcos was declared dead at the scene.

According to Johnson, the responding officers acted correctly upon arrival.

“This is how we teach people to investigate domestic violence,” Johnson said. “The officers were not escalating the situation. They were not there trying to provoke anything.

“The officer actually asked (de Arcos), ‘Can I come in?’

“He talks to him very calmly. Everything was very calm up up until (de Arcos) makes a decision that he’s going to go for that knife.

“Once he makes that decision to go for that knife, it switches like that,” Johnson said. “And the officers very heroically, in my opinion, were trying to do everything to defend another fellow officer.”

Johnson also pointed out the way de Arcos acted upon being told he was to be placed under arrest.

“He was not running for the door,” Johnson said. “He wasn’t trying to get away. He was not trying to get to a window. He was not trying to get to some sort of exit and get away from the officer.

“He was going for that knife. Why he was going for that knife we will probably never know.”

Johnson mentioned a couple possibilities, including suicide.

“There’s nothing anywhere in any comment leading up to that point that would indicate that there was any suicidal tendency,” Johnson said.

“He did threaten to kill his pregnant fiance,” Johnson said. “He said he was going to kill the father when he came over. The only reason to grab that knife is those two things. The officers acted to defend their life and the other people who are involved in the call. I’m quite proud of them.”

Police secured the area after the shooting, and the East Idaho Critical Incident Task Force arrived to conduct an external investigation into the shooting, said Jessica Clements, Idaho Falls Police spokeswoman. The task force is a team of investigators and professional staff from regional 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. The investigation will be reviewed by the Bonneville County Prosecutor’s Office to determine if the officers’ actions were justified under the law.