Boise oversight office releases reports on three police shootings. Here’s what we know

In newly released reports, Boise’s police oversight office said five officers acted appropriately in the nonfatal shootings of three men and publicized several training recommendations made by the city’s police department.

Office of Police Accountability Director Nicole McKay published three reports Thursday in the 2022 shootings of Jake Cottrell and Jeremy Waste, and the 2023 shooting of Gavin Donithorne. All three men were injured and later charged with felonies.

The office has dealt with a backlog after the city’s former oversight director was fired in December 2022. With the completion of the reports in the Cottrell and Waste incidents, the OPA has released findings on all three police shootings from 2022. Boise police were involved in six shootings in 2023, and five of those reports still are outstanding.

The oversight office’s reports are among the investigations that occur when a Boise police officer shoots someone. There also are a Critical Incident Task Force inquiry led by a local law enforcement agency and an investigation done by the department’s Office of Internal Affairs.

Typically, the details of the internal affairs investigation aren’t public, but McKay’s reports have publicized those findings along with any police training recommendations. In all three shootings, the department’s IA investigations found that the officers’ use of deadly force didn’t violate any laws or police policies.

The Boise Police Department did conclude, however — and McKay agreed in the OPA report — that Boise Cpl. Brad Griffin violated policy when he didn’t turn on his body camera in the shooting of Donithorne.

Working after the CITF reports, prosecutors cleared the officers in the shootings of Waste and Donithorne, and said they were justified in their actions. The Owyhee County Prosecutor’s Office is still determining whether officers were justified in shooting Cottrell, according to the OPA report.

Cottrell was sentenced to up to 40 years in prison last summer after pleading guilty to several felonies related to incidents that led to his shooting. He fled from police during a home visit while he was on parole, eventually stealing two vehicles and firing a gun at law enforcement officers.

One responding Boise officer didn’t fire weapon at Donithorne

In March 2023, police began searching for Donithorne, 23, who was driving from Oregon to Boise and had threatened family members here with harm, according to calls to authorities.

Law enforcement said they eventually located Donithorne, who pointed and “appeared to discharge” a weapon at officers after he exited his car. Boise Police Officer Nicholas Quintana, who has five years in law enforcement and joined the department in 2023, and an Ada County Sheriff’s Office sergeant fired their weapons at Donithorne, who was struck once.

Police later discovered that the firearm was a compressed-air BB gun, the report said.

It was “reasonable” for Quintana to believe Donithorne had a real firearm since it was “nearly identical in size and appearance” to an actual handgun and didn’t have orange coloring on the muzzle that typical replicas have, according to the report.

The OPA report also noted that Griffin did not fire his weapon. Donithorne pointed the BB gun at Griffin, who ducked down, but he then heard sounds that he recognized as a BB gun, so he didn’t discharge his service weapon, according to the report.

This occurred while Quintana was firing at Donithorne, the report said.

“Given the imminent nature of the threat of being shot, less lethal force options, such as a taser or pepper spray, were not appropriate or reasonable for the officers to use in this situation,” the OPA report said.

McKay’s report summarized recommendations made by the Internal Affairs investigation. The department said officers should receive additional training on vehicle pursuit tactics, practicing tactical scenarios and incorporating body-camera activation.

The oversight office agreed with these recommendations and didn’t have any other suggestions.

Report cites man’s history of mental health problems

The report covering the shooting of Waste, 31, highlighted that his mental health “had been deteriorating for several weeks.” This new information makes Waste one of 10 people shot by Treasure Valley authorities since 2021 who were suffering from a mental health crisis, previous Idaho Statesman reporting shows.

In November 2022, officers responded to an East Boise home after Waste was accused of stabbing a family member, but weren’t able to locate him. Two days later, Waste attempted to rob Washington Federal Bank off of South Federal Way in Boise, according to the report.

“(The Boise Police Department) became concerned about Mr. Waste’s escalating violent behavior, reported access to firearms, and reported deteriorating mental health,” the report said.

Later that day, the report said police began “an organized effort involving multiple uniformed and plainclothes officers” to locate and arrest Waste. Cpl. Kip Paporello, who joined the Boise department in 1999, located Waste riding a bike near an apartment complex and attempted to stop him after identifying himself as a police officer, but the report said Waste fled toward a bike path.

Waste was then located by Cpl. Robert Gibson. Waste yelled, “I want to get shot, I want to go to heaven,” and ran toward Gibson with a knife, according to prior Statesman reporting and video footage. Gibson attempted to avoid Waste by going behind his patrol car, and then Waste ran toward Paporello.

Paporello fired two shots at Waste, according to the report.

The BPD Internal Affairs investigation said that Paporello, a neighborhood contact officer, was not in uniform and was at a “disadvantage” when he stopped Waste by himself, because he didn’t have all the necessary equipment such as a car-mounted radio, body armor, less-lethal options and a body camera.

The report noted that if Paporello had taken time to have his tactical vest, which had additional equipment, he might have lost the “element of surprise.”

“While Cpl. Paporello’s decisive action was reasonable under the circumstances, it is noted that it created additional risk to officer safety,” the report said.

The oversight office said additional training, refined protocols and equipment for the neighborhood contact unit could be added to “mitigate those risks.” These findings fell in line with recommendations made by the Boise Police Department that all neighborhood officers and detectives should be equipped with body armor, tactical vests and any other necessary paraphernalia.

Police also said the unit should perform training quarterly.

“Cpl. Paporello and Cpl. Gibson handled the situation in a professional and effective manner,” the report said.