BOISE — The Blaine County Prosecuting Attorney has determined Boise Police officers were legally justified after they shot and injured an armed robbery suspect on the Boise Bench last September.
The prosecutor reviewed a report from the Ada County Critical Incident Task Force, along with body camera footage, and concluded the officers’ use of force was justified under Idaho law. The Meridian Police Department led the task force's investigation.
WARNING: The below Boise Police body camera video contains graphic language and images.
As previously reported, the incident began around 9:30 p.m. on September 24, 2024, when officers responded to an armed robbery at a business on W. Fairview Avenue near N. McKinney Street.
Police located a vehicle matching the suspect’s description and attempted a traffic stop near Cole Road, but the driver fled. The vehicle was later found abandoned near Cole and Ustick, and officers spotted the suspect attempting to jump a fence into a backyard on N. Redway Road.
According to investigators, Adam Cook refused commands to surrender and appeared to be armed. Police believed he posed a deadly threat and two officers fired. Cook was injured and taken to the hospital.
Cook was later connected to two other robberies in Boise that occurred on September 15 and 21. He was also the primary suspect in the September 24 robbery.
The Office of Police Accountability also conducted a review and released its findings on Monday. While they agreed that the officers were justified in the shooting, they also offered several recommendations for training and procedures, including training to reduce stress, so officers don't yell phrases like "I'm going to [expletive] kill you if you [unintelligibile] come out here", as one officer did according to body camera footage of the incident.
The investigation also found that multiple officers should have activated their body cameras sooner.
