DEREK WHIPPS

Officer Derek Whipps, Boise Police Department Shot and critically injured, February 28, 2004

Officer Whipps was shot three times by illegal alien Juventino Torres-Vargas during a routine traffic stop. Two of the three slugs were stopped by a replacement vest recently purchased by the department. The third bullet hit under his arm causing a collapsed lung..
Torres-Vargas had concealed a handgun between his feet and shot at Officer Whipps through the car window after handing the officer his Mexican driver’s license and registration. Torres-Vargas was in the country illegally after having been deported to Mexico in 2003 as a result of a domestic battery incident involving his girlfriend. Unbeknownst to Officer Whipps, Torres-Vargas was wanted for aggravated battery and unlawful use of a firearm in the shooting of his girlfriend four days earlier.

Torres-Vargas surrendered after a four hour standoff with police and awaits trial on both matters.