BOISE, Idaho -- The Boise Police officers involved in the March 17 fatal shooting of a man in Hulls Gulch were ‘completely justified’ in their actions, according to Blaine County Prosecutor Jim J. Thomas.
Thomas also reported that the six officers involved acted in conformity with their training and experience when Benjamin Barnes was shot by officers in the Boise Foothills.
Barnes, 42, was shot after police say Barnes threatened several people and their dogs and shot and killed one family’s dog.
“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,” said Thomas in a news release from Boise PD. “The video and photography evidence depict the crime scene area at the time of the incident as being on an open hillside with sage brush, small trees and ground vegetation. 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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