Mother of Boise man killed by deputies calls shooting ‘unjustified,’ files suit
The mother of a 40-year-old Boise man who was shot and killed by deputies in 2023 has filed a lawsuit against several agencies, including the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare and the Ada County Sheriff’s Office, alleging that there was a “repeated, systematic failure” to confine her son on a mental health hold.
Jared Decker was shot and killed on Interstate 84 in April 2023 after he stabbed Ada County Deputy Todd Nelson.
His mother, Barbara Decker, wrote in her 10-page complaint that her son — who was “severely mentally ill,” she said — was released by Health and Welfare months before the shooting, despite being unstable, unmedicated and unaware of his own mental illness, “which led to his homicide by” law enforcement.
“Jared was obviously in a mental health crisis, even obvious to a lay person,” Barbara Decker wrote in the complaint, which also named the Boise Police Department. It was filed this month.
She is asking for damages likely in excess of half a million dollars, along with an assessment of the agencies’ policies, procedures and training programs. The Ada County Sheriff’s Office declined to comment, citing pending litigation. The Idaho Statesman also reached out to Health and Welfare and Boise police for comment.
The day of the law enforcement shooting
In the early hours of April 10, 2023, four Ada County deputies responded to the eastbound lanes of I-84 near Eisenman Road — south of the Boise Airport — to a report of a man walking on the highway. The deputies attempted to speak with Jared Decker for more than five minutes but had no luck, so they decided to physically detain him to get him off the freeway, according to body-camera footage released by the Sheriff’s Office.
Decker was walking and pushing his bike when Nelson grabbed his backpack and attempted to detain him. They fell to the ground, and Decker pulled out a knife and stabbed Nelson several times.
Deputies Ryan Carlson and Anthony Del Toro fired their weapons at Decker, who was struck several times and taken to Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise, where he was pronounced dead. The Ada County Coroner’s Office said Decker died from “multiple gunshot wounds of the torso.” An investigative report said six “projectiles” were removed from his body.
Nelson also was hit by two bullets, in the knee and calf, and was “severely injured.” He had to have several surgeries as a result of the stabbing.
The Sheriff’s Office said Nelson has since returned to work in the agency’s Criminal Investigations Division.
Nelson “was adamant that if the other deputies did not deploy lethal force to stop (Jared Decker’s) actions, he would not be here today having this interview,” according to an investigative report.
Following a review of the Boise Police Department’s outside investigation, Valley County Prosecutor Brian Naugle concluded last year that all four deputies were “reasonable” and “justifiable” in their actions at the scene. Only two of the deputies shot Decker, while the fourth, Dustin Lauritzon, fired bean-bag rounds at him, according to the report. Nelson was armed with a stun gun but didn’t get a chance to fire any weapons.
“This is not a close case,” Naugle said. “Decker’s continued refusal to obey the deputies’ lawful commands to stop and arrange for his removal from the freeway created a situation that endangered both Mr. Decker and the driving public.”
‘Gravely disabled:’ Complaint details Decker’s mental health
Barbara Decker called the shooting “unreasonable” and “unjustified” in her legal complaint.
Decker said that her son was mentally ill and that the deputies failed to follow proper training for dealing with a mental health crisis, either because they weren’t properly trained or because of “reckless” decisions. The deputies failed to subdue Jared Decker or use any nonlethal tactics, she wrote, adding that despite holding a Taser, Nelson physically grabbed her son, who she said had told deputies he had a weapon.
“In his confused mental state, Jared acted to defend himself, which resulted in his death,” Barbara Decker wrote.
Months before, in mid-December 2022, Jared Decker threatened to kill his mother, according to the lawsuit. He was placed on an involuntary mental health hold by the Boise Police Department, which was extended beyond the typical 24 hours by Health and Welfare, and then by an Ada County judge.
On Jan. 3, 2023, Jared Decker was still having “auditory hallucinations” and was claiming to hear the voice of God, according to his mom’s complaint. The next day, Barbara Decker informed Health and Welfare that her conversations with her son indicated that he was still unstable and that she feared for her life. Her son was “gravely disabled” and “currently incompetent,” she added in the suit.
He was released from his mental health hold on Jan. 5, 2023.
Health and Welfare didn’t contact Jared Decker again for almost a month, at which time officials determined that he was “too threatening and ill to understand and agree to outpatient treatment,” the lawsuit said. The agency’s mobile crisis team was asked to intervene but was unsuccessful, which prompted the Boise Police Department to get involved, according to the complaint.
In late February, Boise officers wrote in a report that they were trying to pick up Decker and place him on a mental health hold, according to the lawsuit.
The report said police “have not been able to make contact with him,” according to the complaint. “Our team will continue to work to get him into protective custody hold.”
Barbara Decker wrote in the complaint that this never happened, despite officers seeing him two separate times, including one occasion in which they stopped him while he was riding his bike in a park. Barbara Decker said she spoke with Health and Welfare on March 30, 2023 — less than two weeks before the shooting — and the agency said it again requested that the Boise Police Department place her son on a hold.
“We went out last week and will continue to try and make contact with Jared,” police said in early April.
He was killed a week later.
