City of Boise, ID
11/22/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 11/22/2024 14:35
Prosecutor: Boise Police Officer Justified in April 20, 2024, Critical Incident
Prosecutor: Boise Police Officer Justified in April 20, 2024, Critical Incident
November 22, 2024
The Bonner County Prosecuting Attorney determined that the actions of the Boise Police officer who shot Dennis Mulqueen on April 20, 2024, were justifiable under the law.
The prosecutor reviewed several videos as well as the complete investigation conducted by the Ada County Critical Incident Task Force (CITF) led by the Garden City Police Department.
A brief description of the event from Prosecuting Attorney Louis Marshall is included below and the entire letter is available here.
After Mulqueen shot Deputy Bolter, Mulqueen left the area traveling a relatively short distance to an apartment complex he was associated with. Responding deputies and officers quickly located his vehicle and attempted to set up a perimeter as it was clear Mulqueen was outside. Officers showed a great deal of restraint and did not confront Mulqueen for over an hour. During this period of time, Mulqueen obviously knew the police had found him, however, he refused to follow commands he was being given by a loudspeaker to surrender.
Drone footage and thermal imaging from the drones clearly showed that Mulqueen, at one point, decided to move out from underneath a tarp he had been hiding under and perhaps was considering going into the apartment building where he might be able to take hostages. Contemporaneously, Mulqueen had also fired a single round from his handgun in an unknown direction, possibly at one of the drones flying overhead.
A Boise City tactical team advanced on Mulqueen's position at which time Mulqueen discharged his handgun at the advancing officers hitting the tactical shield that was being held in front of the officers. At that time, Boise Detective Sontag returned fire striking Mulqueen twice. This sequence of events was documented by drone footage. It is clear that Mulqueen fired first, however, even if he hadn't, the officers would still have been justified in using deadly force against Mulqueen.
I find that all officers involved exercised an amazing level of restraint and professionalism in this situation.
"The loss of Deputy Tobin Bolter in the line of duty was a tragedy that will have long and lasting impacts on both our law enforcement community and the entire Treasure Valley community. Our hearts go out to Deputy Bolter's family, friends, and colleagues as we continue to release information about this incredibly difficult time. After a thorough investigation, it has been determined that the officers involved acted in accordance with the law and in protection of their community," said Boise Police Chief Chris Dennison.
The public CITF report will be available heresoon under the date April 20, 2024.
A video report with on-body camera video is available here. The full version of the on-body video used to create the linked video report is available upon request free of charge through BPD's public records request process.
As with all critical incidents, the Boise Police Department conducts an administrative investigation. The City of Boise Office of Police Accountability (OPA) also performs an independent review and issues a public report.
BPD has reviewed that OPA report and its recommendations. BPD's internal review made very similar recommendations and updates to BPD's training and procedure have been completed. The OPA report is expected to be released publicly today.
Contact: Boise Police Media Relations
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