The Latest On The Boise & Meridian Police Shootout with Suspect
An investigation is underway after the Boise Police Department responded to a shooting this afternoon involving the Idaho Department of Corrections in Boise. Meridian Chief of Police Tracy Basterrechea along with Deputy Chief Tammany Brooks held a press conference Thursday afternoon to share the details of the incident.
“All of the information that we’re going to provide today is very preliminary, this is an active investigation,” said Chief Basterrechea, “It will be investigated by the Ada County Critical Incident Task Force led by Garden City Police Department.”
“It is an officer-involved shooting that included both Boise police department and Meridian police department.”
Deputy Chief Brooks then took the podium to elaborate on the details.
“At about 1:23 this afternoon, the Boise police department was notified of a shooting involving the Idaho Department of Corrections in the 9800 block of west Shields Avenue,” shared Deputy Chief Brooks, “As officers were responding to the scene, they learned that the suspect fled in a stolen vehicle and as they were conducting an area check for that vehicle, they learned of a carjacking that occurred in the city of Eagle.”
Chief Basterrechea then took the podium again to wrap up the briefing where he shared the frightening conclusion of the incident.
“As officers were notified of this carjacking, they began flooding the area to try to locate the vehicle that had been carjacked and the suspect. They located that vehicle on Eagle Rd. and a pursuit ensued involving the Boise police department and the Meridian police department. Ultimately that pursuit came southbound on Meridian Road in the city of Meridian at which time the suspect then turned westbound on Broadway Avenue and a Boise police officer was able to successfully perform a PIT maneuver at west Broadway and west First in Meridian halting the suspect’s vehicle.”
For those unfamiliar with the PIT maneuver, it stands for “Pursuit Intervention Technique” and involves officers forcing the vehicle in pursuit into a spin by colliding with the rear side of the vehicle. The intent is to get the drive to a complete halt.
Chief Basterrechea then continued with his statement:
“There was then an exchange of fire between the suspect and three officers from the Boise police department along with two officers from the Meridian police department. The suspect was ultimately hit and officers began performing lifesaving measures. The suspect was then taken to a local hospital where he is undergoing medical treatment as we speak. We do not know his condition at this time. There were no officers injured in this event and no citizens injured in this event.”
It's a frightening situation for sure and thankfully no officers or citizens were hurt. Law enforcement officials will continue to investigate and according to their official press release, will be reviewing body cam footage of the officers involved.
You can check out the full press conference below courtesy of our good friend Joseph S. in the Facebook group Treasure Valley Crime & Community.