Emergency Service
Vest Saves Copper, Shootout Suspect Dead
June 29, 2016 
Technology is playing a big part in an overnight shooting in which a copper was shot and survived
while a suspect died and another victim is hospitalized fighting for survival.
A Kevlar vest apparently saved the police officer who was hit in the chest after responding to a shooting call and both audio and video recordings may have captured the incident. Subsequent investigation and a coroner’s report indicate Alan Amundson shot himself to death.
Here is a Boise police account of the events:
The investigation into an overnight shooting is on-going and detectives remain on scene at this time. Also, a Boise man is still in the hospital with serious injuries after being shot by another man late Tuesday night at a Boise residence.
“Our hearts and prayers go out for last night’s shooting victim as we await an update on his condition,” Boise Police Chief William Bones said.
A Boise Police officer was also shot in the chest when the same suspect opened fire on responding officers. The wounded officer received treatment at an area hospital for his injuries after taking one round to his ballistic vest, and has since been released and is recovering at home.
“Hearing an Officer was shot in the chest last night left me with a deep ache in the pit of my stomach all night, even knowing he was going to okay,” Bones said. “We almost lost him but for the great tactics he employed and grace of God we would be mourning the loss of one of our own. I am deeply thankful this morning yet reflective of the dangers each of our Police Officers face daily.”
Officers responded to a call of a shooting that reportedly occurred at a residence near the intersection of Bridlewood Circle and North Glenwood Street at 11:42 p.m. on Tuesday. When officers arrived, they encountered a man shooting at them from outside of the residence. One officer, a five-year veteran of the Boise Police Department, was hit in the chest by one shot. Thankfully, his protective body armor appeared to have stopped the shot from causing life-threatening injuries. He was transported by paramedics to an area hospital where he received treatment.
When the suspect began shooting, Officer Joe Martinez, a three-year Boise Police veteran, and Officer Jason Green, a seven-year veteran, returned fire. The suspect, a Kuna man, was later found deceased at the scene. The investigation remains ongoing as to if the suspect was shot by officers.
After securing the suspect, additional officers were able to search for and locate the initial victim and move him to safety for evaluation by paramedics. He was transported to the hospital with life-threatening injuries.
As the investigation remains ongoing, officers have located evidence that shots were fired into the surrounding neighborhood. Investigators are reviewing to see if body cameras captured any evidence. Audio recordings are also being reviewed for possible evidence.
The shootings are being investigated by the Ada County Critical Incident Task Force (CITF). The Ada County Sheriff’s Office is leading the CITF investigation. Additional information about the deceased suspect remains under investigation and his identity will be released by the Ada County Coroner’s Office.
The last Boise Police Officer to be shot in the line of duty occurred in February of 2004.
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Comments & Discussion
Comments are closed for this post.
Jun 29, 2016, 4:59 pm
Can we please start reporting how long the violet criminals have been in the state, and of course the other important details such as prior crimes and prison release date.
EDITOR NOTE–Quick check on the IDAHO REPOSITORY showed only a single speeding ticket.
Jun 30, 2016, 6:24 am
I read that the guy shot himself. In spite of all the training, it must be very difficult to shoot accurately in the heat of the moment. It’s not uncommon that all of the shots fired by officers miss the target in an incident like this.
Jun 30, 2016, 8:33 am
Truly unfortunate that cop did not die.
Jun 30, 2016, 9:02 am
So all the police firearms training and expensive shooting ranges is for naught? Or would their aim be even worse without the above?
Jun 30, 2016, 10:56 am
I noticed they declined to mention the body cams this time.
Questions which the media should ask and get answered with each shooting.
-Where is our ombudsman this time?
-Did any of the officer/s shots hit anyone or anything else?
-How many bullets were fired? -With large magazines it’s alarming how many stray bullets put others in danger when the coppers are doing suppressing fire, was that happening this time?
-Only a traffic ticket?
-Was the copper shot by the suspect or another copper on the other side of him?
-Was the suspect really a suspect or just a guy standing near the action?
-Or maybe he was being victimized and shot in defense at the hospitalized person?
-Who’s bullets hit the hospitalized person?
Has the Boise media asked these questions?
We need police, but it is very apparent in America that these situations are often different from initial press releases. I noticed the chiefs statements to the media are alarmingly similar to the canned statements we here on the big city news. Having to ask questions is a terrible reality about this kind of thing. I which our media did so without prompting.
EDITOR NOTE–We agree. Of particular concern to the GUARDIAN is the lack of response on the part of the ombudsman. She has previously refused to come out on these critical incidents, relying instead on the police for data. We are told she did indeed respond to the latest shooting incident. The questions you raise should be answered by a representative of the citizenry, not the police and we applaud the ombudsman for her timely response.
Jun 30, 2016, 11:01 am
LD: Truly unfortunate that cop did not die.
LD is either an “agitator” or an idiot. Or perhaps an agitator/idiot.
Yeah, there are some bully cops out there, and crooked cops. But in my experience the vast majority are dedicated professionals who make our communities safer and more orderly. I’d much prefer to live in a place with cops, than in a place where people wish them harm.
Jun 30, 2016, 2:56 pm
Thoughts and prayers for the recovering officer, and for all those who do their best to keep the wolves at bay. I’m sorry if these open debates are an irritant, but it is what makes us different from China or Russia.
LD, I’m happy to know of your presence in Boise but not happy about it. That is a truly asinine statement. Your statement endangers the free speech rights of all of us at a time when the Obamacommies make open threats and take real action against those who they don’t like. We have a supreme court which would tie 4:4 on the topic. I’m guessing a copper ruined your day once while you were doing something wrong? Along that line of thinking; a copper should never ruin your day if doing nothing wrong but we all know it does happens… sometimes intentionally so or due to poor policy… and it is this last point I’m posting about below.
The police are almost always helpful, they are certainly needed, but like any powerful tool, harmful if mismanaged. The mismanagement is at the hands of the force leaders, city leaders, media, and lawyers judges comrades who protect and permit the naughty coppers to exist. As for the mismanagers, you have work to do and you know it. As our city grows and floods with people from places who don’t respect and enjoy the qualities which have made Boise a standout city… as we grow and change, those same factors will erode inside the police forces as well. Be proactive now please… and I don’t mean get a better PR spin-doctor.
Your failure to replace the prior ombudsman (and office of) with an equivalent or better is wanton failure and inviting problems. In the big picture, I’m happy with BPD and ACSO but I see the need to not go where other big cities have gone.
Jun 30, 2016, 11:14 pm
Hello all, I have been gone for a while, but reading WWW’s questions above has spun me up! First off, half your questions are already answered in news reports. The other half will be answered once the investigation is done by the Critical Incident Task Force (CITF). This has been publicized many times in other serious incidents as who does investigations of these type of calls. They cannot put out everything they know right away as there is a lot of interviewing, evidence collection and forensic examination going on before an accurate picture is drawn. So, sit back and wait like we all will, you’ll get the full story down the road.
Jul 1, 2016, 1:23 am
Wow, The guardian allows LD to post his vile opinion. I bet if LD would have celebrated the death of Gays, Blacks, Hispanics, fill in the blank, the Guardian would have taken editorial discretion to discard his comments. Come on Frasier, exercise some decency and do your job as an editor.
EDITOR NOTE–We don’t edit opinions. We try to honor free speech as vile and disagreeable as it may be.
Jul 1, 2016, 6:44 pm
Sal Nez, I’ve heard if ya wait long enough and interview the witnesses enough times you can paint any picture ya want. Thank goodness for audio visual recording, now we just need them to leave the interpreting/editing office a bit faster and in one piece. The national trend is to sit on bad news for a really really long time so as to discredit, frighten, or payoff those with a differing witness statement from the official press release. Just roll the tapes please.
Jul 2, 2016, 10:48 am
WWW, you are a true conspiracy theorist! Good luck with all the snipers on the grassy knoll, keep that aluminum foil fresh to keep the NSA away, unreal.
Jul 2, 2016, 3:57 pm
Sal Nez, Not even you think Bill Clinton and The AG talked about grand kids. Ed Snowden is real and told us the truth.
No amount of PR or bullying will change the police history in America. (At least it’s tremendously cleaner than most places.) Another example right here in our own backyard. How many times have the witnesses to the rancher shooting been interviewed? Why?
The only time I wear the tinfoil hat is to protect from stellar radiation at cruise altitude over the poles. At least I’m not fling a jammer anymore… could cook lunch with that pod.
As for this particular episode, I think it’s a very straight forward deal. What I’m most curious about is how many holes did the police poke in the surrounding area homes, cars, etc. And to be clear about who shot who.
Jul 7, 2016, 8:18 am
Oh Dear, Live-streaming cannot be prevented or edited:
http://www.wsj.com/articles/police-fatally-shoot-man-during-traffic-stop-in-minnesota-1467875899
Cop need to stop initiating encounters that lead to jumpy cops shooting people.
Jul 8, 2016, 12:35 pm
Oh dear, its after the entire encounter that led up to the shooting. Wait until it comes out with what led up to it WWW, but your mind is made up I know. I’m not saying that police may have done something wrong, but lets wait abd see. But of course the truth won’t ever come out right?
Jul 8, 2016, 9:24 pm
Sal Nez. Good guy got shot and left to die by a clearly panicked and over-reacting copper. Picture is worth a thousand words.
Policing has changed forever; the police report is not mightier than the video anymore because the people now get the video before the editors. I wonder if the Minnesota cops destroyed the camera in the aftermath thinking they cleaned up the problem? Arrested the woman, why? Can I see their reports and discussion transcripts up until they found out it was broadcast?
Drifting into the danger zone: The Minnesota shooting might be found justifiable, but why? How did we get here? Why is a cop’s life more important than mine during a traffic stop? In recent times the copper simply ‘feeling scared’ has become reason enough to kill. You are on here to push that concept on us too? The threat no longer needs to be real, the copper no longer actually needs to be in danger… he just needs to ‘feel fear’ and that’s enough to kill. I’ve had a copper point a gun at me because it was dark and he was scared of my beer can in my private backyard which he wrongfully intruded into (his call was at the next condo over, but he was fat and my gate was unlocked). Well, the jury of public opinion finds this fearful concept for killing unacceptable now that we can see it, rather than reading it in the bullcrap of police reports and internal investigations.
So, now because the mess can no longer be cleaned up with creative writing, the jumpy aggressive training will change too. We will stop hiring jittery meatheads from the football world. Problem cops will be fired. A nation cop license and records file will track the cop from job to job so departments can’t deny knowledge of problems. And then, the dangerous aggressive intimidating bothering of ordinary people over small harmless stuff will stop. Public recordings are showing even the strongest police supporters what really happened vs. the tradition of cleaning up the mess with post action reports. Powerful minds are changing.
Yes, the coppers have a lot of money and power, but it is granted by the people. Forcing such changes will mean changing the largest private-public-corporate business entity in America back into a simple civil service again. In the future a broken taillight will be pointed out with a letter. Guns will only be pointed at people who present a true dangerous threat.
We have to do it; no nation will continue to survive having so many people harassed and imprisoned buy a Criminal Justice business. It is hamstringing the economy of the nation in addition to outraging those who’ve been damaged by it. No doubt we have bad guys and need cops, but we do not need dangerous encounters for broken taillights, that’s just not American, and it’s actually oppressive and very damaging to the nation. We will be a better nation if we police that which is harmful rather than policing for profit.
I do not condone violence. The calls for warfare from either side are criminal.
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As for the original thread, looks like a fairly reasonable situation with the appropriate ending, but many details missing. The faster all the cards are shown the more credible the government. As I said before, I want to see where all the shots landed and who shot who. I want to know how many people came close to getting killed by stray bullets, if any. And I want to know why Boise has chosen to have a weak independent oversight office.
Jul 17, 2016, 11:06 pm
Dirt department does not like him:
http://www.boiseweekly.com/boise/the-over-under-on-pierce-murphy/Content?oid=3845800
Jul 21, 2016, 12:45 pm
Did ya get that steering defect fixed yet?
http://www.ktvb.com/news/local/investigators-boise-officer-fell-asleep-before-hitting-car/20864396
Jul 22, 2016, 10:31 pm
WWW get some new material, quit rehashing old news. How about this, police save lives! There’s plenty of stories out there about this. Why don’t you try printing some of the good stuff, that is the majority of the police’s encounters with people. Sure, there is a few percentages of bad ones that could have been better, but they are grossly outweighed by the good they do also. Just like any profession, you have a few bad ones, I’m sure in your profession, if you have one, there are a few bad apples, or are you just a Monday morning quarterback?
Jul 23, 2016, 1:38 pm
SalNez, that is a current event. It’s been pushed under the rug. It’s several events in one actually. It might have worked if it didn’t blame Ford Motor Company. Falling asleep on a night shift is common, own it, pay for it, move on. Always ask for a pillow and blanket before a long shift.
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You are right. Police sure do contribute to public safety. Once upon a time it said ‘To Serve and Protect’ on the cars. That’s exactly what I’m harping about; public safety is at risk. Society in general and the economy is at risk too. The cops are the builders of the Us and Them wall causing fear instead of trust. You can’t do anything without the public’s help and money. And you are losing that badly. Even Trump knows there needs to be yuge changes to police forces.
Can’t pen over it anymore because someone recorded it. The root of the issue is the tremendous power being abused. In such a profession, only one turd in the pool is too many. In this country there are probably 20 episodes a day of egregious life changing abuses. Thousands a day more of coppers visiting women while the husband/boyfriend is in jail, and many similar misdeeds.
It’s a systemic problem. SYSTEMIC. Only one turd is too many when the turd has police powers. If we can’t improve the cop as you claim, then we must reduce the power. Denying the problem puts the country at risk in several ways.
Did you know cops are 30% of the total Boise budget? Holy crap! Make me feel better and hire a real Ombudsman with a sliver of that money.
Jul 23, 2016, 10:00 pm
Current event, the accident was October 2015, report was sent to prosecutor and ge was charged. He did own up to it by pleading guilty I’m sure. Move on WWW nothing else to see here.