FBI, local and state police are investigating U of I killings. Here’s who’s in charge
The Moscow Police Department remains in charge of the investigation of a mass homicide that killed four University of Idaho students early Sunday.
The Idaho State Police, Latah County Sheriff’s Office and FBI have provided additional resources to the investigation, state police spokesperson Aaron Snell told the Idaho Statesman, but Moscow Police Chief James Fry has remained in charge since Sunday.
“The Moscow Police Department has been in charge of this investigation and will continue to be in charge of this investigation for the entire time,” Snell said on Thursday.
State troopers have been sent to Moscow to assist with any “potential calls to service and community interaction,” Snell said, and FBI investigators are also helping. Moscow School District superintendent Greg Bailey told the Statesman that state troopers had replaced Moscow police in patrolling Moscow schools, freeing local officers to deal with the investigation.
Snell said he could not provide an exact number on how many state troopers and FBI officials are assisting in the investigation because it is changing daily.
Fry addressed the media in a press conference on Wednesday afternoon, admitting that “I probably should have been standing here a day or so ago.”
Police gave new details on the investigation during the press conference, but have been slow to release information because they do not want to “compromise the ongoing investigation,” the department said in a news release. Despite releasing some new information, both Moscow police and Idaho State Police didn’t release details on a handful of questions fielded at the press conference.
During the press conference, Fry said a potential threat to the Moscow community exists. The statement came after several days of assuring the community that there was no threat, yet to “stay vigilant” and “be aware of your surroundings at all times.”
Idaho State Police is in charge of fielding press inquiries, though Snell said he continues to report directly to Fry. Snell didn’t respond to several additional follow-up questions from the Statesman on Thursday.
Moscow police continues investigation
Despite the assistance of state and federal agencies, former Ada County Sheriff Gary Raney told the Statesman it is not unusual that the jurisdiction for an investigation stays with the local police department.
“Moscow is big enough that the ISP is going to be a lot of help, and the FBI is going to be a lot of help,” said Raney, who is now president of litigation consulting firm GAR, Inc. “But Moscow is big enough that I would not see them handing over the investigation to anybody. Because they can do it; it’s the same end goal.”
The only time state police would take over an investigation is times when a local jurisdiction did not have the facilities to handle the investigation or when a federal crime is committed, Raney said.
He also said that the FBI would only take control of the investigation is during a terrorism event. The only time the FBI has local jurisdiction over a local crime is when someone commits a bank robbery, Raney said.
State police began assisting with Moscow police on Sunday, Snell said, while the FBI arrived on Monday. He also said that the Idaho state crime lab is assisting with the investigation, and the FBI is helping with data collection.
The FBI also confirmed that its Behavioral Analysis Unit is helping with the investigation. The unit analyzes a crime scene, victims and suspects’ behavior and potential motivation for a crime.
“It’s very common for additional agencies, especially like the ISP, to come in and assist agencies,” Snell said. “That’s one of the things that we naturally do, as does the FBI. It just merely means that we oftentimes have resources that are pertinent to the investigation and or just manpower that we’re able to help with.”
How many people each agency has on the case
Moscow police announced specific numbers of personnel from each agency involved in the investigation on Friday.
The Moscow Police Department
4 detectives
24 patrol officers
5 support staff
Federal Bureau of Investigation
22 investigators in Moscow
20 assigned agents located out of Treasure Valley, ID, Salt Lake City, Utah, and West Virginia
2 Behavior Analysis Unit
Idaho State Police
20 investigators
15 troopers
Public Information Officer
ISP Forensics Services and mobile crime scene team
15 uniformed troopers to assist with community patrols
