Boise Police just made a change. Here’s what we know about the move
Liz Guzman likes adrenaline.
When she was 17, she was trying to figure out what to do with her life and exploring a potential military career. But then she went on a police ride-along as a teenager in Twin Falls, sitting in the car as the officer, a family friend, jumped out and started chasing someone, she said. It only took three ride-alongs for Guzman to be convinced that law enforcement was for her.
“This could be so much fun,” she recalled thinking.
Her career has since brought her from the Magic Valley to the Treasure Valley. Now, she is taking on the role of Boise Police Department’s Hispanic liaison.
The family friend became her law enforcement mentor, she said. Guzman studied criminal justice at Boise State University, but she started at the Twin Falls Police Department. She also has a master’s degree in psychology from Grand Canyon University, she said.
“I think I have more compassion,” Guzman said. “I’m a little bit more open-minded and I try to understand the why.”
Guzman, 29, is decades younger than outgoing liaison Ed Moreno. Moreno, who is in his early 50s, let Guzman know early on about the job opening, she said.
That’s an interesting prospect, in part because Idaho’s Latino population is young, with a median age of 27 compared with 40 for non-Latinos as of 2021, according to the Idaho Commission on Hispanic Affairs’ data book.
But Guzman has to deal with some of the big challenges Moreno faced, namely that people are afraid that the police will deport people. She said she hopes to put out real information for Boise’s population, to counter fake narratives on social media.
Guzman works on patrol, though she said she’s hoping to move to the city’s behavioral health response team.
Her father, originally from Mexico City, immigrated in the 1980s to Twin Falls. Her mother, from Michoacán, moved to Idaho in the 1990s, she said. They met in Twin Falls, making Guzman a first-generation Idahoan.
Boise is different than her hometown, where she already knew and had people’s trust from growing up there.
The area’s Latino population is more diverse, she said, with people from places like Colombia.
“It’s been awesome learning different cultures within my own culture,” Guzman said.
This is the third in a series of stories related to Hispanic Heritage Month, Sept. 15-Oct. 15.
This story was originally published October 3, 2025 at 4:00 AM.
