Boise officers cleared in June shooting that ended with suspect killing himself

Two Boise police officers who fired at Alan Amundson last June acted reasonably in response to the Kuna man’s actions, the Ada County Critical Incident Task Force and the reviewing prosecutor have determined.

Amundson reportedly tried to strangle an ex-girlfriend at her home on West Bridlewood Circle, then shot the woman’s son and battered her daughter, police said. He then got a rifle out of his vehicle and shot randomly at homes in the neighborhood near Capital High School, investigators said.

When police responded, Amundson shot the first officer on the scene, penetrating his bulletproof vest but not seriously injuring him, and shot at a second officer, hitting the vehicle, investigators said. The officer who was shot in the vest was Jordan McCarthy, police said.

Two Boise officers, Joe Martinez and Officer Jason Green, each fired at Amundson, wounding him in the arm, police said.

When officers approached Amundson about two minutes after he fired his last shot, he was dead from a head wound later determined to be self-inflicted, police said.

Boise police announced the findings by the Canyon County Prosecutor’s Office in a news release Friday. As part of standard procedure, an internal review by the Boise Police Department is also underway, police said.

In the news release, Boise Police Chief Bill Bones said his officers “acted with courage to protect the public and themselves in a life-threatening situation. Incidents like this highlight the difficult circumstances our officers encounter and the Boise Police Department values a fair and transparent investigation into their actions.”

The Ada County CITF conducted an investigation, locating 26 spent .223 caliber rifle casings and six spent .308 caliber rifle casings, all apparently fired by Amundson, police said.

This story was originally published April 21, 2017 at 1:01 PM with the headline "Boise officers cleared in June shooting that ended with suspect killing himself."