Three months later, officials confirm blind woman was shot, killed by Spirit Lake police during call for assistance

Law enforcement officials are acknowledging for the first time that Spirit Lake Police officers shot and a killed woman in her senior living apartment on Nov. 1 following a call for assistance.

A report from the Kootenai County Coroner this week said 67-year-old S.A Floyd died of homicide. Until Friday, officials had not said whether her death was a direct result of police gunfire, prompting speculation regarding how she died.

S.A Floyd, 67, was found dead in her senior living apartment three hours after two Spirit Lake police officers fired their weapons at her. Floyd was blind, according to her assistants, and was close to being evicted from her home. Officials have not said why police shot their guns or if Floyd had a weapon. The Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office said the two officers went into the apartment and “encountered a female in a bedroom where an officer-involved shooting occurred.” A gun was later found next to her body.

The coroner’s report lists Floyd’s classification of death as “trauma.” This means any type of injury, Kootenai County Chief Deputy Coroner Lynn Acebedo said.

“What’s on there is on there for a reason,” Acebedo said.

Sheriff’s office spokesman Lt. Zachary Sifford confirmed Friday after the release of the report that Floyd was killed by police.

The sheriff’s office investigated the shooting, which is standard protocol, and sent it to the Kootenai County Prosecutor’s Office three weeks ago, Sifford said. The prosecutor’s office will decide whether the shooting was justified or whether to charge the officers. Their names have not been released.

According to the coroner’s report, Floyd was found at 6:14 p.m. Acebedo said this is the time that responders “laid eyes on her.” The call for service came in at the same time, according to a timeline from the sheriff’s office. That timeline also said shots were fired at 6:34 p.m.

By 6:35 p.m., Floyd was pronounced dead by medical personnel, the report shows.

The timeline from the sheriff’s office – pulled directly from radio logs – says “Floyd was found dead” in her apartment three hours later, at 9:48 p.m. Sifford said that length of time was because police had to get a search warrant to re-enter the apartment unit. That isn’t uncommon, he said.

“When they retreat or people retreat into residences, it’s more difficult because you have to take more precaution,” Sifford said. He can’t speculate on the timeline, he added, and he could not comment on whether life saving measures were administered.

Bell Tower Funeral Home in Post Falls was where Floyd’s body was sent following the autopsy. The funeral home contracts with the sheriff’s office when there is no direction from family about transportation or care. Bell Tower’s owner, Lance Cox, said the home didn’t have any next of kin contact from the coroner’s office, so both organizations worked together to handle the arrangements.

Sheriff Robert Norris said in a news conference last year that next of kin was notified about Floyd’s death, which is also visible on the coroner’s report. But Cox said on the paperwork he received, there was no next of kin listed for him to reach out to.

“Either they found someone and notified them but they didn’t have a legal obligation, so they said they weren’t going to deal with it, or (the coroner) just said that. There was no next of kin contact. It was all done through the coroner,” Cox said. “They would put that on the form if they had next of kin.”

Because no family claimed Floyd’s body, the coroner will work with the county to begin the process of cremation. After that, the remains will return to the custody of the coroner, Cox said.

Almost 20 years ago, Floyd was renting a home from another Spirit Lake resident, Arlene Fox. The two had become closer over the years, and Fox would often visit Floyd to bring her food or take her on shopping trips.

Fox said Floyd was afraid of anyone entering her home. She would warn people before they went inside, too, she said. Fox had never seen Floyd with a gun, but it wouldn’t surprise her if she was shot because she was threatening police from coming inside her apartment.

“If there was a welfare check on her for being suicidal, and I’ve never known her to be suicidal, they should’ve had someone knowledgeable that could talk her down… Not come in guns blazing, if that is what they did,” Fox said. “S.A was an ornery gal, but very kind and fun.”

Fox said she’s never heard Floyd say one negative thing about police. And she doesn’t know how the shooting really happened if Floyd was blind and walking with a cane.

To Fox’s knowledge, a funeral for Floyd was never held. She would’ve attended. A call to the Kootenai County Prosecutor’s Office was not returned on Friday.

Spirit Lake Police declined to comment due to the ongoing investigation.