03-05-2025
Ada County police shooting ‘poorly executed' but justified, prosecutor says
The Kuna police officers who shot a man on an Interstate 84 on-ramp in Meridian last year were legally justified in their use of force, according to the Valley County prosecuting attorney, who took issue with some facets of the incident.
Brian Naugle wrote in a report released Friday night that police too often seem to choose violence and that the officers were lucky no one was hurt when some bullets hit a passing car and landed across the freeway in Roaring Springs Water Park. While the use of force 'may have been poorly executed,' it was still legally justifiable, he said.
'They (officers) must still avoid using such force in a reckless, careless, or negligent manner,' Naugle wrote in a letter to Ada County. 'I cannot help but notice a tendency to choose deadly force even when there are other alternatives or where the use of force by the police creates at least as great a danger to the public as the person being apprehended.'
The Treasure Valley saw 12 police shootings last year, including one in Elmore County and one in Owyhee County. Seven of those were fatal.
On Aug. 1, 2024, Jeremiah Bainbridge ripped his girlfriend's car keys out of her pocket and drove away in her car, according to previous Statesman reporting. The woman jumped out of the car as he drove away, with 'mildly bleeding scratches' on her face, according to the prosecutor's letter.
Bainbridge drove 100 miles per hour while trying to elude Ada County sheriff's deputies who work for the city of Kuna, which has the Sheriff's Office operate its police force under a contract, according to previous Statesman reporting and the letter. He called dispatch and said he was armed, suicidal and wouldn't go back to jail.
Deputies used a pursuit-intervention technique to stop the car. Bainbridge got out of the car with a gun in his hand, the letter said. Ultimately, three deputies fired 19 rounds, five of which struck him, the letter said.
Bainbridge pleaded guilty to charges of domestic violence and fleeing an officer. A judge sentenced him to 90 days in jail and required him to complete the Active Behavioral Change program, to be followed by probation until 2032.
Reporter Alex Brizee contributed.
