Police identify Boise officer who was involved in fatal shooting of man who stabbed dogs
The Boise Police Department identified one of the officers who was involved in the fatal police shooting of a 37-year-old man in January.
Camron Johnson, who has been an officer for eight years, was one of five members of law enforcement who fired their guns at Jeremiah Gaver after police said he stabbed two K9s, according to news releases from the Boise Police Department and Ada County Sheriff’s Office.
The other four law enforcement members who fired their weapons at Gaver were deputies from the Sheriff’s Office. They haven’t been identified.
At around 12:30 Jan. 24, authorities saw Gaver, who was covered in a tarp and “looking over fences into the backyards of homes” west of the Boise Airport, and questioned him, the Sheriff’s Office previously said in a news release. Law enforcement fired a beanbag round, according to the Sheriff’s Office, which is a pillow of pellets fired from a shotgun as a non-lethal weapon, and used tasers on him before sending the two K9s after him.
Gaver stabbed both of the dogs, the Sheriff’s Office said. After Gaver stabbed the dogs several times, he then turned toward the officers, and the four deputies and one officer fired their guns at him, according to the release. Gaver died at Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise, according to the Ada County Coroner’s Office.
The dogs, Astrid and Meko, are at home and recovering, police said.
The Meridian Police Department is investigating the shooting as part of the Ada County Critical Incident Task Force.
Treasure Valley law enforcement agencies have shot and killed two people since the beginning of the year, with the Sheriff’s Office being involved in both shootings. In 2023, Idaho officers shot and killed 13 people, making last year one of the state’s deadliest years for police shootings, according to an Idaho Statesman database.
This story was originally published February 12, 2024 at 2:45 PM.
