UPDATE: Nicole McKay, Director with the Office of Police Accountability, has issued a report on the January 2023 shooting finding that the officer was justified in the shooting of Eli Nash.
The officer was serving a warrant for Nash who police say was absconding parole and failing to register as a sex offender. He was shot after pointing a handgun at officers and was pronounced dead at the scene.
(EDITORS NOTE: The video posted is from the original January 2023 shooting)
A Boise Police officer has been cleared of wrongdoing in a fatal January 2023 shooting near the Texas Roadhouse on Fairview Avenue.
The Blaine County Prosecuting Attorney has determined that the actions of Boise Police Officer Kip Paporello, who shot Eli Nash on January 23, 2023, were justified under the law.
The news release states that Officer Paporello “acted reasonably in using deadly force due to the threat of death or serious physical injury to the officers and/or the public” and was “justified under the circumstances.“
The prosecutor reviewed multiple officers’ on-body video as well as the complete investigation conducted by the Ada County Critical Incident Task Force led by the Garden City Police Department.
Before the shooting, Nash was on parole following a conviction of two counts of Sexual Exploitation of a Child by Electronic Means. Nash had failed to register as a sex offender and officers were investigating an additional sexual assault allegation against Nash.
On January 23, 2023, officers formulated a plan to arrest Nash while he was in a car in a parking lot near 3801 E. Fairview Ave, in Meridian. When officers approached the vehicle Nash did not comply with requests to show his hands and instead jumped into the back seat where officers saw that he was holding a gun. Paporello then fired four rounds at Nash through the rear windshield, and despite life-saving efforts by law enforcement, Nash was declared deceased on scene.
RELATED: Man fatally shot by Boise Police in busy parking lot identified by Coroner's office
“The use of deadly force is always viewed as a last resort and something we never take lightly. The end result of this incident, a person losing his life, is extremely unfortunate, and not the outcome we were seeking,” said Ron Winegar, Chief of Police.
A video report, with on-body camera video, is available https://youtu.be/neizySwl2_A.
