Boise accountability office releases 2017 shooting report

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The recently formed Office of Police Accountability for the city of Boise has released a report on a 2017 shooting that found the six officers involved acted in self-defense.

The accountability office formed in July 2021 and recently came under scrutiny when the Idaho Statesman reported the office never publicized its findings for multiple police shootings.

The newspaper reported Monday the accountability office released a report on the March 2017 shooting in the Boise foothills where six officers fired 68 rounds, killing 42-year-old Benjamin Christian Barnes.

The report says Barnes shot and killed a dog and threatened hikers, and when police arrived shot at them. Police returned fire.