Boise police have had more fatal shootings this year than in decades, data shows
Another shooting in downtown Boise on Thursday marks the fourth fatal shooting by Boise police this year, a record number for the agency in decades, according to Idaho Statesman data.
The shooting occurred near Ann Morrison Park on South Dale Street. Around 2:40 p.m., police confirmed the person involved, identified only as a man in his 50s, died at the scene.
Boise police have been involved in six shootings since the start of the year. The three most recent shootings — of 22-year-old Payton Wasson on June 24, 28-year-old Macey Juker on July 26 and Thursday’s unidentified man — have been fatal. Boise police also shot and killed 32-year-old Eli Nash in a Meridian parking lot in January.
Boise police were involved in three fatal shootings in 2016 and two fatal shootings in 2021, 2017 and 2004, according to data analyzed by the Statesman. The Statesman’s records date back to 2000.
Last year, the Boise Police Department shot three people, but none of the shootings were fatal. It was the first year since 2014 that the agency was not involved in a fatal shooting.
According to data compiled by the Washington Post and the Statesman, various law enforcement agencies have shot and killed eight people in Idaho this year. One of those was killed by Ada County sheriff’s deputies outside of Boise in April. The three others were killed by police in Blackfoot, Idaho Falls and Pocatello.
Thursday’s shooting makes 2023 one of the deadliest years for police shootings in Idaho since 2000. Statesman data shows police killed eight people in 2019 and 13 people in both 2018 and 2021.
