The Gem County Prosecuting Attorney Erick B. Thomson, determined that the actions of the Boise Police officer who shot Gabriel Pope on November 13, 2024, were justifiable under the law.
The prosecutor reviewed the officers’ on-body video 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 the Prosecuting Attorney is included below and the entire letter is available here.
At 3:05 PM on November 13th, a Boise Police Officer pulled over a vehicle with a fictitious license plate. A male sitting in the back seat of the vehicle without a seatbelt refused to identify himself, then provided a false name. The male, later identified as Gabriel Pope, told officers “shoot me.” He then left the vehicle with a knife and stabbed himself in the neck before fleeing on foot through a neighborhood. At 3:37 PM at 2034 S. Division Avenue, Boise Police Department Corporal Martinez observed Pope leaving the backyard of a home through a gate, bloody and still holding the knife. Martinez commanded Pope to stop. Pope responded with, “fuck you,” and walked towards Martinez with the knife pointed at Martinez. As he reached within lunging distance of Martinez without stopping or complying with any commands, Martinez fired and hit Pope three times.
Idaho Codes 19-202A and 18-4011 both apply to this situation. Applying the facts of this case to those statutes, Martinez justified in his actions. Idaho Law would not allow the criminal prosecution of Martinez. As Pope had shown violence, was covered in blood, and continued towards Martinez with the knife, Martinez rightly felt that every individual in the neighborhood and he himself was in danger. It is this office’s opinion that no criminal charges shall be filed against Martinez.
The public CITF report is available here under the date November 13, 2024.
A video report, with on-body camera video, is available here. The full-length 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 the OPA report and its recommendations. The department has made similar recommendations and continues to enhance its training and procedures. The OPA report is expected to be released publicly today.