2023 downtown Boise Police shooting found justified after review

The shooting of 20-year-old Payton Wasson on June 24, 2023, during an altercation with Boise Police Officers near the intersection of 5th and Main has been deemed justified under Idaho law.

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According to the police accountability investigative report on the critical incident, the situation began when BPD officers saw two men they believed were affiliated with a gang in downtown Boise, Mario Garza and Payton Wasson.

When the two men walked away from their car, officers looked through the window and saw a handgun in plain view. Garza, the owner of the vehicle, was on parole at the time and was prohibited from possessing any firearms.

According to police, as the two men returned to the vehicle, BPD officers saw Wasson take an object from the floorboard and place it in his waistband.

According to the report, the OPA finds that the officers’ decision to allow Mr. Garza and Mr. Wasson to return to the car rather than contacting them beforehand was flawed, and deliberately allowing what the report refers to as a violent felon, access to a handgun during an enforcement action was a poor tactical decision that escalated rather than deescalated the risk of a violent encounter.

Officers confronted the two men as they walked away from the vehicle a second time. When Wasson refused to comply with orders from officers and ran into the crowded downtown area.

When officers gave chase, Wasson pulled his firearm from his waistband and pointed it at Officer Chance Feldner, who then fired his duty handgun four times and struck Wasson once in the head.

Wasson later died in the hospital due to his injury.

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The Boise Police Department released information and footage of the critical incident in the video below. Viewer discretion is advised due to the graphic nature of the footage.

The Gooding County Prosecuting Attorney reviewed the CITF investigation and determined that the officer's actions were justified under Idaho law.