BOISE, Idaho — A prosecutor has determined that a Boise Police officer was justified in the shooting of 22-year-old Gabriel Pope during a November 2024 incident.
The Gem County Prosecuting Attorney, Erick B. Thomson, reviewed on-body camera footage and the full investigation conducted by the Ada County Critical Incident Task Force, led by the Garden City Police Department. Thomson concluded that the officer’s actions were “justifiable under the law.”
The report states that on Nov. 13, 2024, a Boise Police officer stopped a vehicle with a fictitious license plate. Pope, who was in the back seat, refused to identify himself and gave a false name before exiting the vehicle with a knife. Prosecutors said Pope stabbed himself in the neck, fled on foot, and later confronted Corporal S. Martinez while still armed.
When Pope approached Martinez with the knife, ignoring commands to stop, the officer fired three times. Pope was hospitalized after the shooting.
Thomson’s letter says that Martinez’s actions were lawful, given the threat posed, and no criminal charges will be filed.
