Driver who allegedly rammed stolen van into Boise police car is shot by officers
For the second time in three weeks, at least one Boise police officer shot a suspect, this time after the man allegedly rammed a van into a police car multiple times.
At around 7 p.m. Sunday, officers were called to the 7000 block of Overland Road after reports of a reckless driver and possible driving-under-the-influence situation in a moving van, according to a news release from the Boise Police Department. Callers reported that the van was damaged and might have been in a crash.
Police learned that the van was reported as stolen and tried to pull over the vehicle. The driver of the van then swerved toward police cars while trying to drive away, according to the release. Officers started a pursuit but ended the chase because of its “high rate of speed, reckless driving behavior, and potential danger to surrounding vehicles.”
The van was later seen in the 10000 block of Riley Court, a residential street in West Boise. As police again tried to stop the driver, officers reported over radios that he rammed the van into a patrol car multiple times.
“As officers attempted to take the suspect into custody, an officer-involved shooting occurred,” BPD said in the news release.
The news release does not say how many officers fired their guns or when exactly officers shot the suspect. The extent of the driver’s injuries also was not released, but he was taken to a hospital for treatment. Police say the driver likely will face multiple felony charges.
Photos of the scene sent to the Idaho Statesman show bullet holes in the van’s windshield, as well as damage to the driver’s side window.
At least one officer was wearing a body camera and recording, and BPD said that will be reviewed during the Ada County Critical Incident Task Force investigation. The Meridian Police Department will lead that investigation.
This was the third police shooting in the Treasure Valley in just over three weeks and the second for Boise police in that time frame.
On June 27, Boise police officers shot Mohamud Hassan Mkoma, a Black refugee from East Africa. Few details of the shooting have been released to the public, and Mkoma’s family has told the Statesman that it thinks BPD has issued a false narrative.
Last week, police in Nampa shot a man inside his home after they said he pointed a gun at officers. Multiple officers fired their weapons at Richard Bigby-Garcia, who was taken to a nearby hospital before being released and booked into the Canyon County jail.
This is the first time since 2018 that the Boise Police Department has had more than one shooting in the same calendar year. There were two shootings that year.
Since 2010, the high mark was five officer-involved shootings, which came in 2016. The department had two in 2015 and three in 2017, according to data provided by BPD in response to an Idaho Statesman request under the Idaho Public Records Act.
This story was originally published July 12, 2021 at 8:32 AM.
