Boise police identify officer who shot suspect in Ada Deputy Tobin Bolter’s death

The Boise Police Department on Friday released the identity of the officer who shot and killed the man believed to be responsible for a deputy’s death last month.

Dennis Mulqueen, 65, shot Ada County Sheriff’s Deputy Tobin Bolter, 27, in the neck during a traffic stop just before 9 p.m. on April 20 near the area of West Overland Road and South Raymond Street, authorities said. Mulqueen shot Bolter before the deputy even reached the driver’s-side window, Ada County Sheriff Matt Clifford said at a news conference.

Bolter died from his injuries the following morning.

After finding Mulqueen’s unoccupied vehicle near South Roosevelt and West Dorian streets that same night, law enforcement launched a manhunt. Boise police said they located Mulqueen outside a home on South Jackson Street, according to a news release.

Members of the Boise Police Department’s Special Operations Unit responded and attempted to take Mulqueen into custody, but he was “uncooperative,” police have said. He fired at officers shortly after midnight, and a Boise officer “returned fire, striking him,” Boise Police Chief Ron Winegar said at a news conference.

The department on Friday named “J. Sontag, who has been a police officer for 18 years, nine with the Boise Police Department,” as the officer involved in the shooting of Mulqueen. Police records obtained by the Idaho Statesman show that Joshua Sontag was hired by the department on June 1, 2015.

The suspect had a $3,000 warrant out for his arrest at the time of his death, but it’s still not known why Bolter initiated the traffic stop or why Mulqueen opened fire at him. Boise police said they do not have any new information, and asked anyone with knowledge about the suspect to call Ada County Dispatch at 208-377-6790.

The Ada County Critical Incident Task Force led by the Garden City Police Department is continuing to investigate the police shooting, Friday’s release said.

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