Ada County Sheriff’s Deputy Todd Nelson continues to recover after he was attacked by 40-year-old man on the side of Interstate 84 in the early morning hours of April 10.
Jared Decker pulled out a knife and stabbed Nelson multiple times as the deputy was trying to get Decker from walking on I-84.
Three ACSO deputies shot Decker during the confrontation – actions which Valley County Prosecutor Brian Naugle says are justified and likely saved Nelson’s life.
Decker died hours later.
Naugle did the criminal analysis for the Ada County Critical Incident Task Force (CITF) at the request of the Ada County Prosecutor’s Office.
“Decker’s actions presented a real and immediate risk of death or serious injuries to the deputies he encountered, particularly the deputy Decker stabbed multiple times,” Naugle said in a letter issued last week. “The use of force by the deputies in this case was justifiable.”
Naugle determined deputies Ryan Carlson, Anthony Del Toro, Dustin Lauritzon, and Nelson did not break any laws during the incident — and an internal investigation determined all four did not violate any ACSO policies.
The deputies responded to a call made to Ada County Emergency 911 dispatch around 2 a.m. on April 10 from a motorist about what he said looked like two men, wearing dark clothing, walking in the right eastbound lane of traffic of I-84.
The caller said he and a truck on the road in front of him had to swerve out of the way to avoid hitting the men – who turned out to be Decker walking with a bike.
Deputies Nelson, Carlson, Del Toro, and Lauritzon arrived minutes later.
They blocked traffic, set up around Decker, and began asking him to get off the highway. They offered to help Decker and to give him a ride.
Decker refused, yelled at the deputies, and kept going.
After several minutes of trying to talk to Decker, the deputies decided to take him in to custody to get him off the highway.
Deputies Nelson and Del Toro decided to approach Decker, while the other two provided cover.
The attack happened almost as soon as Nelson grabbed Decker’s backpack with his left hand.
Decker pulled out a knife in his right hand and the pair went to the ground, as Decker stabbed Nelson multiple times.
That is when Del Toro and Carlson fired their guns at Decker, incapacitating him. Lauritzon fired “less-lethal” bean bag rounds as well.
It was immediately obvious Nelson was badly injured.
He was able to stand up, so Del Toro got him into a patrol car and drove him to meet an ambulance closer to Boise.
While that was happening, deputies made sure Decker was incapacitated before they provided first aid until paramedics arrived.
The Ada County Coroner’s Office later determined Decker died from multiple gunshot wounds to the torso.
Deputy Nelson suffered multiple stab wounds in his torso and legs.
It appears at least one of the rounds fired by deputies either directly or indirectly struck Nelson, while he was grappling with Decker, in the legs.
Investigators with the CITF determined Decker “posed an immediate danger to the public and himself” by walking, with a bike, on the side of I-84 in a 80 mph zone in “near total darkness” and refused to multiple lawful commands to stop, put his bike down, and get off the highway.
They also determined the lethal force deputies used to stop Decker from attacking Nelson was “lawful, necessary, and justified.”
Naugle made the same conclusion after reviewing the evidence, saying the decisions made by Nelson, Carlson, Del Toro, and Lauritzon were lawful and reasonable.
“This is not a close case,” Naugle said. “The deputies gave mister Decker ample time to comply, offered him help, and made every reasonable effort to resolve the situation peacefully.”
A redacted version of the CITF report is available at the ACSO critical incidents webpage.
A video report, with on-body camera footage, is available at YouTube