Coroner ID’s man killed by Boise police, who ‘encountered a subject firing a rifle’
The Ada County coroner on Friday released the identity of the man killed in a shootout with Boise police Wednesday night.
Macey Juker, 28, died at the intersection of 19th and Washington streets in the North End after lifesaving measures were unsuccessful, according to a news release from Ada County Coroner Richard Riffle. The cause of death was “multiple gunshot wounds,” the coroner’s office said.
The Boise Police Department said in a Friday news release that when officers responded to active-shooter reports, they tried to take Juker into custody, but he shot at them. Six officers fired back, police said, and their names “will be released at a later date.”
The Ada County Critical Incident Task Force, led by the Garden City Police Department, is investigating the shooting, which occurred at around 10:45 p.m. All of the officers were placed on administrative leave “per policy,” police said Thursday.
Boise Police Chief Ron Winegar said in Friday’s release that police “encountered a subject firing a rifle in a neighborhood and when they tried to stop him, he turned the rifle on them.”
“All too often our officers are put in situations where they have to risk their lives and courageously make decisions to protect the community,” Winegar said.
Neighbors interviewed by the Idaho Statesman on Thursday described seeing a man walking on 19th Street with a rifle and hearing many shots fired.
Tyler Wasden, 44, a 19th Street resident, said that from his front windows, he watched the suspect walking on 19th with a rifle pointed in the air. The man headed toward Resseguie Street, then came back toward Washington pursued by police, Wasden said.
When a police officer and the suspect were about 25 feet apart, both opened fire, Wasden said. It wasn’t clear to him who fired the first shot, he told the Statesman, but the suspect had turned toward the officer.
Mary Allen, 70, said she lives next door to a house owned by Juker’s mother. She told the Statesman that Juker was “grouchy” and kept to himself.
“We avoided interacting with him,” she said.
Police focused their work on his mother’s property at 718 N. 20th St. well into the afternoon Thursday. Allen said police had been at the house all night after the shooting.
Josh Delaune, 36, a painter working on a new house behind that property, said the man who lived there would shout and curse at workers, and was particularly upset about a portable bathroom at the construction site.
Juker had only a minor criminal and driving infraction record, according to court records. It included tobacco and alcohol use when he was underage, and citations for speeding and not wearing a seat belt.
“This was a difficult situation for our officers, and understandably a scary and traumatic experience for those who live in the area,” Winegar said in Friday’s release. “Our condolences go out to Mr. Juker’s loved ones.”
This story was originally published July 28, 2023 at 11:25 AM.
