Boise police Cpl. Holtry will be home Wednesday, honored at policeman’s ball

Boise Police Cpl. Kevin Holtry, who suffered life-changing injuries in the line of duty last fall, is coming home after two months of treatment and rehabilitation at a Denver hospital.

Holtry will arrive at the Boise Airport at about 5:20 p.m. Wednesday. He’ll be the guest of honor at the inaugural Policeman’s Ball Saturday night at The Grove Hotel, organized by the Fraternal Order of Police Treasure Valley Lodge #11.

“It’s the perfect opportunity to bring the community and police officers together and celebrate Kevin being here with us,” said Joe Andreoli, FOP president and a close friend of Holtry’s. “It will be a homecoming party.”

The Policeman’s Ball is a fundraiser primarily for Holtry, with organizers hoping to raise $60,000 to $70,000. All 370 tickets, which were $100 each, have been sold. The participants will be a mix of police (about 60 percent) and the general public.

It will be a formal affair for the attendees, and media won’t be allowed inside to cover it.

“It’s not very often we get officers to let their hair down and have fun, without being completely under the microscope,” Andreoli said.

The ball was advertised through word of mouth and social media. Twelve sponsored tables, at $1,200 a pop, sold out in a day. There will be a raffle, silent auction and live auction at the event.

Andreoli said The Grove made the event possible by donating the ballroom, food, drinks and discounted room rates. Event planning company Major Events was also instrumental.

Holtry’s fellow officers worked with friends in the community to renovate his house. He’d originally asked that his daughters’ rooms get new paint and floors, but the project expanded into the addition of wood floors.

Officer Tim Beaudoin led that project, with donated materials and installation expertise from R & R Hardwood Floors and Sunrise Hardwood Flooring. Ferguson outfitted the kitchen with new appliances. Interior designer Janet Gorringe donated new beds, bedding and furniture for the girls’ rooms.

Holtry was shot multiple times last November during a yard-to-yard search for fugitive Marco Romero in a Boise Bench neighborhood. Romero was wanted in the shooting of two people in Meridian, and the carjacking of an 89-year-old woman.

Holtry received life-saving treatment at Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center but was paralyzed below the waist. His left leg was amputated above the knee. He received treatment and rehabilitation at Denver’s Craig Hospital, which specializes in spinal cord injuries.

“Holtry has made great progress and is ready to continue his recovery back home in Idaho,” a Tuesday afternoon news release from the police department said.

Cpl. Chris Davis was shot once in the leg in the Nov. 11 shooting; he was treated and released from a Boise hospital. Romero suffered fatal injuries.

This story was originally published March 7, 2017 at 4:33 PM with the headline "Boise police Cpl. Holtry will be home Wednesday, honored at policeman’s ball."