Boise police officer shoots man after ‘brief interaction.’ Subject to face charges
A Boise police officer shot and injured an adult male Tuesday morning after a “brief interaction” with the officer along Fairview Avenue, police said.
The individual is set to face an aggravated assault charge with a deadly weapon on a police officer once he is released from the hospital, Chief Ryan Lee said during a Tuesday press conference.
At 9:46 a.m., police officers responded to a subject and a vehicle blocking the road on Fairview between North Liberty and North Hartman streets, police said.
The man was attempting to flag down other drivers, according to witnesses, who said they were “concerned for his welfare.”
An officer driving an unmarked police vehicle, who was in full uniform, responded to the scene, Lee said.
“During that interaction events transpired that made the officer feel compelled to discharge his weapon, wounding the individual,” Lee said.
The officer immediately began life-saving measures, according to Lee and a Boise Police news release. The officer, whose identity was not disclosed, was placed on paid administrative leave per department policy, according to the release.
The subject was injured and is in stable condition at the hospital, police said. The officer involved was not injured.
Police did not reveal what kind of weapon the individual had or whether he used force against the officer. Police did not release the subject’s name or age.
The incident is under investigation by the Critical Incident Task Force, with the Ada County Sheriff’s Office as the lead agency.
The task force participation is the routine for police shootings. It is formed when an “officer is involved as a principal, victim or custodial officer where death or injury likely to cause death was the result of the use of force,” according to the department’s policy manual.
The Boise Police Department said it is aware of at least one individual who captured video footage of the incident. Lee urged any members of the public who might have video or photographs to reach out to the Ada County Sheriff’s Office.
“We’d like to be able to do a full and thorough investigation — both on the criminal aspect as well as the internal investigation,” Lee said.
Fairview Avenue was closed for nearly three hours while the shooting investigation continued, but it reopened at 12:45 p.m.
This is the first shooting involving Boise Police in 2022. Police officers in the Treasure Valley were involved in 11 shootings in 2021, with five of those involving BPD — including the Boise Towne Square mall shooting response.
This story was originally published February 22, 2022 at 11:45 AM.
