Ada County coroner IDs man shot, killed by Boise police in Texas Roadhouse parking lot

The Ada County Coroner’s Office has identified a Boise man as the victim of Monday’s fatal police shooting.

Eli Nash, 32, was shot and killed by a Boise officer around 4:30 p.m. Monday in front of a Texas Roadhouse restaurant on Fairview within the Meridian Crossroads area, according to the coroner’s office and previous Idaho Statesman reporting.

The male officer, who was uninjured, has not been identified. Police spokesperson Haley Williams declined to provide additional information to the Statesman on Tuesday morning.

Nash pleaded guilty to two felony counts of the possession of sexually exploitative child material in 2018 and spent three years in prison before being released on parole, according to online court and prison records. According to the Department of Correction’s most-wanted page, Nash violated his parole, and authorities began searching for him on Nov. 13.

Interim Boise Police Chief Ron Winegar told reporters Monday following the shooting that Nash had a warrant for “absconding his parole,” which is why Boise officers and authorities from the Idaho Department of Correction were attempting to take Nash into custody.

Officers were trying “to remove him from a car when he produced a weapon,” according to a Monday news release. Winegar said the weapon appeared to be a firearm.

The officer then shot and killed Nash after being “forced to discharge his weapon” and shot the man, the release said. Nash died at the scene after authorities attempted to provide medical aid, police said. He was pronounced dead at 8:20 p.m., the coroner’s report showed.

No civilians were injured, though some witnessed the shooting. Winegar said he did not know why the arrest was being made in the parking lot of a restaurant, which remained open after the shooting.

“I can’t comment on where the best place for an arrest is,” Winegar said Monday. “But when we have a violent or a wanted suspect who is absconding parole, it’s in everybody’s best interest that we get them into custody as quickly as possible for everyone’s safety.”

The Garden City Police Department is leading the investigation into the shooting. The agency declined the provide additional information. The Boise Police Department also will conduct an internal investigation, according to the news release, which is BPD policy.

This was the second police shooting in the Treasure Valley in January, and both have involved Boise police. The department was involved in three police shootings last year.