Boise police kill suspect after hunt for man who shot deputy during traffic stop
Update 11:08 a.m. April 21: The deputy who was shot died, the Ada County Sheriff’s Office announced Sunday.
Boise police said an officer shot and killed the man suspected of fatally shooting an Ada County sheriff’s deputy during a traffic stop Saturday night.
The deputy, Tobin Bolter, stopped a vehicle near the area of Overland Road and South Raymond Street shortly before 9 p.m. Saturday and was shot by a person inside the vehicle, according to a news release from the Ada County Sheriff’s Office and previous Idaho Statesman reporting.
Law enforcement launched a manhunt to find the shooter after finding his unoccupied vehicle at about 9:30 p.m. near South Roosevelt and West Dorian streets, the Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. The police department said neighbors received a “CodeRed notification” to warn them of the manhunt. CodeRed warnings are sent out by law enforcement to alert people in a certain area about a nearby emergency.
Shortly after midnight, Boise police said they located “a subject believed to be the shooting suspect” outside of a home on South Jackson Street, the Boise Police Department said in a news release.
Members of the Boise Police Department’s Special Operations Unit “responded and attempted to take the suspect safely and peacefully into custody, but he was uncooperative,” the release said. The suspect fired at officers shortly after midnight, and a Boise officer “returned fire, striking him,” Boise Police Chief Ron Winegar said.
The suspect was given medical aid and taken by ambulance to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said. No officers were injured.
Following department policy, the officer who fired his gun was placed on administrative leave, police said.
Winegar said he was sending his thoughts and prayers to the Ada County deputy and his family.
“We are thankful no innocent, uninvolved bystanders were injured in these violent encounters,” Winegar said in a news release. “There is absolutely no excuse for this violence perpetrated against police in our community. I am both angered and heartbroken at the same time.”
A bystander who witnessed the deputy being shot Saturday night called 911 and performed CPR on the deputy, according to previous Statesman reporting.
Bolter, who was taken to Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise, was alone during the traffic stop, a spokesperson previously told the Statesman. Another deputy who was on his way to help the injured deputy was involved in a collision near South Meridian and East Amity roads and also transported to the Saint Alphonsus hospital. Authorities haven’t released the condition of that deputy.
The Garden City Police Department will lead the Ada County Critical Incident Task Force’s investigation of the shooting.
