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Home > News > CITF task force investigating shooting of Melba man Thursday night

CITF task force investigating shooting of Melba man Thursday night

The Ada County Critical Incident Task Force is investigating the officer-involved shooting of a 72-year-old man who led Canyon County Sheriff’s deputies and Kuna Police on a car pursuit that ended with him pointing a gun at officers in the desert south of Kuna Thursday night.

Edgar M. Hafen is charged with three felony counts of aggravated assault and a misdemeanor count of eluding arrest. Deputies arrested and booked Hafen into the Ada County Jail Tuesday afternoon after he was discharged from a local hospital where he was being treated for gunshot wounds.

The incident began earlier in the evening when one of  Hafen’s family members contacted Canyon County Sheriff’s deputies. They were concerned he may hurt himself. Canyon County deputies found Hafen driving near Melba and attempted to pull him over.

Hafen kept driving, eventually making his way into Ada County, where Kuna Police took over the pursuit around 6:20 p.m. as he drove east on Kuna Road. Hafen refused to pull over and kept going, turning south on Swan Falls Road.

Kuna police followed Hafen until he slowed down enough at Victory Lane for an officer to do a PIT (Pursuit Intervention Technique) maneuver, where the patrol car strikes the side of the other car and causes it to abruptly move sideways and stop. That happened at 6:40 p.m.

Three Kuna Police officers got out of their cars and told Hafen to get out. He refused to get out and pointed a handgun at the officers. The officers fired, and Hafen dropped his gun out the window.

Paramedics treated Hafen at the scene and then drove him to a local hospital. None of the three officers were injured.

The three officers involved are Wes Bunnell, Vishal Sahni, and Nolan Zorn. Bunnell has been with the Ada County Sheriff’s Office for 9 years and Sahni for 3 years. Zorn is a new patrol officer who has been training with Bunnell since earlier this fall.  This is the first critical incident for all three officers.

The Critical Incident Task Force does an independent investigation of all uses of lethal force by law enforcement in Ada County. Boise Police is the lead investigative agency for this incident. Investigators are still determining how many shots were fired and if the man fired his gun.

Hafen, who is being held in the jail on a $500,000 bond, is set to make his initial court appearance Wednesday afternoon.