Police shoot, kill man after call to Garden City home. It’s Idaho’s fifth in 2021.
Two members of the Garden City Police Department shot and killed a man early Tuesday morning, according to a news release from the department.
At around 12:50 a.m., three Garden City officers responded to a call of a domestic disturbance in the 5100 block of North Quinella Street in Garden City. Shortly after arriving, police say a 58-year-old white man walked out of a home and allegedly pointed a handgun at police and threatened the officers.
Two officers pulled their own handguns and fired at the man, according to the news release. Though police called for paramedics and began life-saving efforts, the man died from his injuries.
With the shooting, the Ada County Critical Incident Task Force was activated, which consists of police investigators from agencies throughout the county. The Ada County Sheriff’s Office will lead the investigation. Additionally, Garden City police will conduct an internal investigation regarding the shooting and review its own policies and procedure.
In the news release, Garden City Police Chief Rick Allen said body-worn cameras were recording at the time of the shooting, and investigators have video and audio of the shooting through different perspectives.
In an email to the Statesman, Allen said the department cannot release any video or audio of the shooting until the Ada County Prosecutor’s Office reviews the case, issues a final disposition and approves the release of the recordings.
The two Garden City officers who fired their weapons Tuesday were placed on administrative leave, a standard practice for Garden City and many police departments in Idaho.
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the decedent’s family as well as our officers and their families,” Allen said in the release. “… This incident will a leave a void in a family and will change the lives of the officers forever.”
The Ada County Coroner’s Office will release the deceased man’s identity after family has been notified and an autopsy is performed.
Other police shootings in Idaho
Tuesday’s shooting is at least the fifth fatal police shooting in Idaho in 2021. In 2020, there were at least six fatal police shootings in the Gem State.
The last police shooting in the Treasure Valley occurred in Nampa on Dec. 21, 2020, when at least one Nampa police officer shot and killed 34-year-old Nampa man Leonel Salinas. Police tried to arrest Salinas following a traffic stop, but he reportedly began fighting with officers. Salinas allegedly stabbed one officer in the face before at least one officer shot and fatally wounded him.
