Boise OPA presents 2024 data, urges continued emphasis on de‑escalation and better data systems

The Office of Police Accountability presented its 2024 data and recommendations to the Boise City Council, highlighting use‑of‑force patterns, outcomes of complaint reviews and priorities for the office going forward.

Lexi Whitmore, data analyst for the Office of Police Accountability, told the council, “OPA had a total of 135 contacts in 2024,” and explained the office distinguishes informational contacts from jurisdictional complaints. Whitmore said 39 contacts in 2024 met the office’s definition of a complaint; 23 of those alleged failures in performance of duty and nine alleged demeanor or rudeness. OPA had no sustained complaints in 2024 and noted three complaints that fell outside its 90‑day filing window.

Whitmore also reviewed force data reported to OPA. She said Boise Police Department officers reported 151 force events in 2024 (65 physical uses of force and 86 shows of force) and 250 individual force applications. Whitmore said there were about 41,636 calls for service in 2024 and that physical force occurred in roughly 0.05% of calls for service. She also reported seven firearm discharges in 2024, 26 instances where a taser was aimed and 10 where a taser was fired.

Director Nicole McKay summarized OPA’s work on deadly‑force incidents from 2015 through 2024 and the office’s review practice. McKay said BPD had 38 use‑of‑deadly‑force incidents during that period and six in 2024; OPA has completed reviews of two 2024 incidents (an April incident involving an individual identified as McQueen and a March incident at Saint Al’s) and expects to post a third review in March. Three incidents from late 2024 remain under investigation by the Critical Incident Task Force and are not yet available for OPA review. McKay said OPA looks for “adequate communication…preplanning and contingency planning,” appropriate role designation during incidents and whether de‑escalation and less‑lethal options were used where feasible.

McKay said the Boise Police Department adopted an updated de‑escalation policy effective April 1, 2024, and told council the new policy “does an excellent job of articulating clear and robust standards and is consistent with national standards.” She recommended continued emphasis on scenario‑based training, reinforcement of updated report‑writing and supervisory review practices, and accountability when reporting standards are not met. McKay also recommended data system improvements to enable better analysis and OPA reporting, and she expressed support for increased detective staffing in BPD’s special victims and domestic violence units.

Chief Dennison of the Boise Police Department said the approach emphasizing effective communication and designated communicators reflects a national trend and training focus intended to reduce chaotic simultaneous commands at incidents.

Council members asked OPA staff how the office’s complaint definitions differ from public perceptions and how data points such as mental‑health or substance‑use histories in critical‑incident reports were assembled. Whitmore said OPA relied on critical‑incident task‑force reports, BPD records and interviews and that some histories were documented in those sources while others remained unknown. Council members also asked about benchmarking OPA and BPD data against peer cities; Whitmore said comparisons are possible but require clear metadata about how other jurisdictions count force and incidents.

OPA listed priorities for fiscal year 2026 that include tracking outcomes tied to de‑escalation and communication training, supporting police data system improvements to enable data‑driven policing and analytic reporting, continuing public transparency through the OPA website, and monitoring effects of a planned third behavioral‑health team expected by summer.

Council members thanked OPA and BPD leadership for collaboration on training and oversight and asked staff to continue providing annual data updates and comparative analysis where possible. The council did not take a formal vote on policy changes during the presentation.

The OPA reports cited in the presentation (including OPA’s April 2024 posting) and BPD’s internal affairs data are available or scheduled to be posted on OPA’s website as noted by McKay.