Boise police officer injured while serving an arrest warrant downtown Tuesday
A Boise police officer was taken to the hospital with multiple injuries after serving a warrant Tuesday on a local suspect.
At around 2 p.m. Tuesday, the officer was attempting to arrest Christopher Woodard, 32, of Boise, on the 600 block of South 13th Street in downtown Boise for violating his probation, according to a news release and department spokesperson Haley Williams. The officer located Woodard on the third floor of a building, according to a news release.
Woodard punched the officer “numerous times,” causing the officer to deploy a taser several times, according to the release. Williams clarified to the Idaho Statesman by email that none of the taser attempts worked.
The officer, who has over 17 years of law enforcement experience, has been released from the hospital, Williams said.
Police said Woodard also attempted to pick up the officer and throw him over a third-story railing. The officer used a neck restraint on Woodard, typically referred to as lateral vascular neck restraint, which rendered the suspect unconscious.
Woodard was arrested, transported to a hospital for evaluation and booked into the Ada County Jail. He faces a charge of battery on a law enforcement officer, according to online court records, and his bond is $250,000.
Boise Police Chief Ron Winegar in the release said that police officers “face danger every day and every night” and often get hurt doing their jobs.
“The vast majority of these incidents occur without fanfare, without press coverage, and frankly, without notice in most cases,” Winegar said. “When an officer comes this close to serious injury or death, I feel obligated to let our community know more about the sacrifices our officers are willing to make for the sake of public safety, and the close calls that often happen without the police use of deadly force and without most people’s knowledge.”
In 2019, Woodard was arrested and charged with several felonies after he kicked and threatened a woman at a Boise home, causing her to flee and call the police. Woodard barricaded himself inside the home and eventually resisted arrest, which led to police using a stun gun on him then.
He pleaded guilty to battery and resisting arrest, and was placed on supervised probation until June 2023, according to online court records. Woodard was also assigned to take classes, to take any medications that were prescribed to him and to “comply with all mental health plans,” online court records showed.
This story was originally published August 16, 2023 at 2:59 PM.
