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Boise Police Accountability Director: ‘Slow things down’ in mental crisis standoffs

Nicole McKay is the new director of the Boise Office of Police Accountability.
City of Boise
Nicole McKay is the director of the Boise Office of Police Accountability.

In the fall of 2022, as Nicole McKay was taking over the role as director of the City of Boise’s Office of Police Accountability, she was tasked with righting a pretty large ship.

At the time, the Boise Police Department was still mired in controversy surrounding leadership, there was a significant backlog of citizen concerns and complaints, and her department was understaffed. That was then.

“We have a dynamic team,” said McKay. “We’re working hard towards getting into the work that we had hoped to get to.”

In a wide-ranging interview with Boise State Public Radio's George Prentice, McKay talked about greater transparency and OPA’s redesigned website.

“Reports were called “critical incidents” up until the time I took over,” said McKay. “We now call them ‘use of deadly force’ reports. We have a universal naming convention and are organized by date of the incident and include the name of the involved individual. So, finding a particular report should be much easier.”

In the conversation, McKay also talked about a concern over police officers shouting over one another during critical incidents, plus a growing emphasis on “slowing things down” when there’s a standoff with an individual in mental crisis.

“We know that if things slow down, we have a greater chance for a positive outcome.”

You can hear the full conversation by clicking the play button above.

Find reporter George Prentice @georgepren

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