BOISE, Idaho —
In audio recordings from October 27, 2021, an Ada County Dispatcher can be heard talking to a Boise Police Officer.
“Just be advised he does have cautions of a couple batteries upon certain personnel. Felony 160's and some more IDOC holds,” an Ada County dispatcher said in an audio recording from October 27, 2021.
They were talking about a suicidal man, threatening to jump off a building in downtown Boise. The man was Zachary Snow.
Not long after that conversation, Boise Police officers found Snow, perceived a deadly threat, and shot him. He later died at a local hospital.
KTVB filed a public records request to get this dispatch audio and learned that some of the information dispatch gave police about Snow was not accurate.
Since the incident unfolded, the City of Boise has said officers knew Snow had a warrant out for his arrest. Court records show he missed a court date for violating probation. Officers planned to check on Snow's welfare and arrest him on the warrant.
Boise Police Department (BPD) said dispatch told responding officers that Snow had a felony failure to appear warrant and would run if he saw police.
“Also has a felony 99, looks like for an FTA. Original charge is assault,” Dispatch said.
A felony 99 means ‘Felony Warrant’; FTA stands for ‘Failure to appear.’
However, KTVB learned that Snow’s active arrest warrant was not a felony, it was a misdemeanor warrant out of Ada County. He failed to appear in court related to multiple misdemeanor charges.
KTVB asked BPD whether officers respond to suicidal subject calls differently if they are told someone has a felony versus a misdemeanor warrant.
BPD said that because Snow’s family filed a tort claim against the city, county, and state in December they cannot give us more details.
When we asked if they could explain how one of their dispatchers gave police incorrect information, the Ada County Sheriff's Office (ACSO) said: "As you're likely aware, our agency was included in a tort claim associated with this case, which means we can't discuss it due to the possibility of litigation."
In April, a prosecutor reviewing the case cleared the police officers who shot Snow, saying they acted in self-defense.
Body camera video shows Snow pointing a black speaker at police as they approached him in an empty parking lot near Capitol Boulevard and Myrtle Street.
Snow’s mother, Melissa Walton, told KTVB the family plans to file a lawsuit very soon.
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