By Alex Brizee
The Idaho Statesman
BOISE, Idaho — Months ago Boise Police Officer Wayne Anderson mistakenly shot and injured an Idaho Department of Correction corporal during an ambush by a man at Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center set up to free a prisoner.
An outside investigation has cleared the 13-year police department veteran of any wrongdoing, but it could still be years before the public learns the full details surrounding the incident.
In March, Skylar Meade, an Idaho man serving a minimum 10-year prison sentence at the state’s maximum security prison, and co-conspirator Nicholas Umphenour led what police called a “brazen” and “violent” attack at the Boise hospital to coordinate Meade’s escape from custody.
Umphenour shot and injured two correctional officers, while a third officer was injured by Anderson, triggering an outside investigation, something that occurs with all Treasure Valley police shootings. The Ada County Sheriff’s Office led the Critical Incident Task Force inquiry before handing it off to the Valley County Prosecutor’s Office for review.
Prosecutor Brian Naugle cleared Anderson and determined that the shooting was “justifiable under the law,” Haley Williams, a spokesperson for the Boise Police Department, told the Idaho Statesman in an email. As a part of his review, Naugle looked over footage from the incident and the Sheriff’s Office’s “complete investigation,” Williams added.
Typically, once an investigation is finalized, the Boise Police Department will release an extensive report by the investigating agency on the details of the shooting and some of the body-camera footage from the incident. But because of Meade’s and Umphenour’s ongoing criminal cases in other jurisdictions, the investigative report and body-cam footage won’t be made public until those cases are finalized, Williams said.
That’s in spite of the fact that both men have been sentenced for charges related to the escape and shooting at Saint Alphonsus in Boise. Those cases are closed.
But hours after Meade and Umphenour escaped, the pair traveled six hours north, where Idaho State Police have alleged that they killed 83-year-old James Mauney and 72-year-old Don Henderson, before driving to Southern Idaho, where they were arrested.
Meade and Umphenour were indicted by a Nez Perce grand jury and charged in mid-June with first-degree murder in the death of Mauney. Umphenhour hasn’t appeared for a hearing yet, but in Meade’s case prosecutors announced their intent to seek the death penalty and still have a flurry of motions to settle before the scheduled February 2025 trial date.
It’s not uncommon for such high-profile cases — especially those involving the death penalty — to take years, meaning the whole picture of what happened at Saint Al’s during the ambush won’t see the light of day for a long time.
Bryan Kohberger, the suspect in the killing of four University of Idaho students, has been awaiting trial for nearly two years and has seen his trial rescheduled twice. Lori and Chad Daybell didn’t face juries in the deaths of two of Lori’s children until 2023 and 2024, respectively, after being arrested in 2020.
And even after the Mauney case is finalized, there is the killing of Henderson to wrap up.
Police statements, court testimony provide some info
Just after 9:30 p.m. on March 19, three IDOC officers transported Meade to Saint Alphonsus for treatment of self-inflicted injuries — which authorities later would learn were faked as part of the 32-year-old’s ruse to get himself to the hospital.
Once at the hospital, Meade refused treatment and was eventually escorted out of the hospital’s emergency room by the officers, where the 29-year-old Umphenour, who’d recently been released from prison, was waiting.
Umphenour, who knew Meade while they were both incarcerated, shot two of the officers before fleeing the scene with Meade.
Boise Police Department officers arrived within minutes to reports of an active shooter, according to police. The officers believed the shooter was inside the ER, and when Anderson saw an individual holding a gun — later identified as IDOC Cpl. Christopher Wilske — he fired his weapon at him, police said.
Boise police at the time said Wilske wasn’t “seriously injured” and was receiving treatment. It was later disclosed that one of Wilske’s eyes was injured by either the bullet or shrapnel, according to prior Statesman reporting. Wilske has since filed a $500,000 claim against the police department.
Idaho Department of Correction Director Josh Tewalt previously said it was “heartbreaking” to see how much Anderson blamed himself for the shooting.
“I want to say it again, and I’ll say it as many times as I have to: There’s not a person who was involved in the events that morning — including our staff member who ultimately was wounded — who has nothing but appreciation for BPD showing up when and how they did,” Tewalt said.
—
©2024 The Idaho Statesman.
Visit idahostatesman.com.
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
