BOISE, Idaho — The Ada County Sheriff's Office this week had a special "welcome back to work" celebration for a deputy who was wounded in the line of duty during the summer of 2020.
Sheriff Matt Clifford on Wednesday presented a Purple Heart award to Deputy Brandon Austin, who spent two days in the hospital and went through a lengthy recovery after a man riding a stolen motorcycle shot Austin as Austin pursued him on July 13, 2020, in Star. Austin's injuries included a shattered arm.
Austin was working as an Eagle Police officer at the time. The City of Eagle contracts with the sheriff's office for police services.
In a Facebook post, the Eagle Police Dept. says, "Brandon maintained his composure and attempted to stop the man who just shot him to try to keep him from hurting others. The price Brandon paid that day was steep. It required hospitalization and a lengthy recovery. Brandon will have to carry the mental and physical burden of those injuries – and every person is Ada County is in his debt..."
At the time he was shot, Austin had been with the Ada County Sheriff's Office for about 16 months. Before joining Ada County, he had worked in law enforcement since 2000 in California, and had never been involved in a shooting.
Austin currently is assigned to the Ada County Sheriff's Office training unit.
Matthew Kelly of Emmett, who was 21 years old the day he stole a motorcycle and shot Austin, is serving a 54-year prison sentence for aggravated assault and battery on an officer and multiple counts of grand theft and burglary. He will not have any chance for parole until December 2054.
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