Boise police investigate possible anti-LGBTQ crime after man allegedly threatened to burn woman
Police are looking for a suspect accused of a possible anti-LGBTQ crime at a Boise park last week, according to a Boise Police Department news release.
Police said a woman was at Owyhee Park in southern Boise at around 7 p.m. last Thursday when a man approached her and began harassing her. The man allegedly threatened to burn the woman, who said she believed she was targeted because the man thought her to be a member of the LGBTQ community.
The victim described the suspect as a white man between 30 and 50 years old, 5 feet 9 inches tall, with facial hair. The man was wearing all black clothing — shorts, shirt, shoes, a baseball cap and sunglasses.
Police are investigating the incident as malicious harassment, which is Idaho’s hate crime statute. The law applies to harassment, intimidation or other threats based on a victim’s “race, color, religion, ancestry, or national origin.” The law does not include references to sexual orientation or gender identity, but Boise police still investigate such incidents as malicious harassment, officials said.
Nearly one-third of the hate crimes reported in Idaho last year were based on gender identity or sexual orientation, according to Idaho State Police data.
Anyone with information on the Owyhee Park incident is asked to call Ada County dispatch at 208-377-6790 or Crime Stoppers at 208-343-COPS, www.343COPS.com or via the P3 Tips app.
