Former Rare Staff
The wild shootout between police and a 42-year-old suspect that occurred in the foothills of Boise, Idaho, in March 2017 and ended in the death of that suspect has been ruled justified.
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Not only did Blaine County Prosecutor Jim J. Thomas say that “officers utilized lawful legal force” when the fired away at Benjamin Barnes and killed him, but body camera video of the incident has also been released for public viewing.
As the Idaho Statesmen reported, the six police officers converged on scene that day after multiple witnesses reported criminal threats made against a woman who didn’t have her dog on a leash. A second call, made an hour and a half later, reported that a dog named Moses was shot to death.
Several people said that Barnes threatened them and their dogs.
KIVI-TV reported that the officers found Barnes to be wearing clothing matching the description of witnesses and ordered him to come out of the bushes. Instead, Barnes opened fire from roughly 50 yards away.
Police responded with deadly force.
“The officers utilized lawful legal force in reaction to a deadly threat when Benjamin Barnes pointed a semi-automatic handgun at them and discharged several rounds towards the officers after officers gave verbal commands to come out of the bushes and show his hands,” Blaine County Prosecuting Attorney Jim J. Thomas said. “The officers were essentially without protective cover when Barnes began shooting at them while being approximately 50 yards away. The actions of the Boise police officers in shooting Benjamin C. Barnes were completely justified in order to neutralize the lethal threat that he [Barnes] presented to not only the police officers but to citizens who may have unwittingly come upon the scene.”
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Boise Police Chief William Bones commended the officers involved for putting their lives on the line.
“This was a very dangerous situation for our officers and for the community, my deepest thanks go out to the officers who put themselves in the line of fire to protect our citizens,” he said. “While our hearts go out to both Barnes’ and Moses’ family for their losses, we are grateful no additional members of the community or officers were injured or killed.”
