Death by Cop 2021-2025
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Jason Taylor Boles
Age : 29
Gender : Male
Race : White
Date : 08/24/2023
Location : 11300 block of Andretti Avenue
City : Bakersfield
County : Kern
State : California
Agency : Bakersfield Police Department; Los Angeles Police Department
Officer(s) :Dennis Eddy; Ryan McWilliams; Brandon Price; Unidentified off-duty LAPD reserve officer
Cause of Death : Gunshot
Event : Killed by police during armed confrontation following off-duty officer encounter
OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :
On 08/24/2023, at approximately 11:23 a.m., an off-duty Los Angeles Police Department reserve officer who lived in northwest Bakersfield encountered 29-year-old Jason Taylor Boles in the 11300 block of Andretti Avenue/Andretti Court. The reserve officer reported seeing Boles approaching residences in the cul-de-sac and believed he might be committing a residential burglary. The off-duty officer confronted Boles, and gunfire was exchanged between them.
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The initial police account characterized Boles as a burglary suspect. Bakersfield police subsequently corrected that account, stating that investigators had identified neither a burglary victim nor a residence that had actually been burglarized in connection with the incident. Boles therefore should not be described as having committed a burglary as an established fact.
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The off-duty LAPD reserve officer called police, and Bakersfield officers were dispatched to the neighborhood for a reported shooting. Dispatch advised responding officers that Boles was armed and that he had allegedly fired at the off-duty officer.
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Bakersfield Police Sgt. Dennis Eddy was among the first officers to arrive. The reporting off-duty officer directed Eddy toward the end of the cul-de-sac, where Boles was located near the entrance of 11309 Andretti Court. According to the subsequent Kern County District Attorney review, Eddy heard a gunshot and saw a bullet strike the grass near him. Police alleged that Boles had fired toward Eddy from the residence.
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Eddy fired one round from his patrol rifle toward Boles and then moved across the street to obtain cover behind a pickup truck. The DA's review states that Boles repeatedly moved around the corner of the garage while police issued commands for him to show his hands and surrender. Eddy ultimately fired two additional rounds, for a total of three shots.
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Sgt. Ryan McWilliams and Officer Brandon Price also responded. They moved through neighboring backyards to 11304 Andretti Avenue, directly across the cul-de-sac from Boles' location. According to police accounts, Price ordered Boles to show his hands and put down his firearm. Police alleged that Boles continued holding the handgun and pointing it toward officers.
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The DA's investigation states that Boles fired toward McWilliams and Price and that a bullet struck Price in his right calf. Price and McWilliams then opened fire on Boles. Boles was struck by police gunfire and died at the scene. Price's injury was described as minor, and he recovered.
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Investigators recovered a 9mm semiautomatic handgun associated with Boles. The Kern County Sheriff's Office identified him as Jason Taylor Boles of Bakersfield and reported that he was pronounced dead at 12:13 p.m.
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The Bakersfield Police Department released a critical-incident briefing containing surveillance footage, 911 audio and body-camera footage. The department publicly identified the three BPD officers who fired as Sgt. Dennis Eddy, Sgt. Ryan McWilliams and Officer Brandon Price. At the time, Eddy had approximately 22 years with BPD, McWilliams approximately 18 years and Price approximately five years.
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The Los Angeles Police Department conducted a separate administrative investigation of its off-duty reserve officer's actions during the initial confrontation with Boles.
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On 04/30/2025, Kern County District Attorney Cynthia Zimmer issued the completed criminal review of the Bakersfield officers' gunfire. The DA concluded that Eddy, McWilliams and Price acted in self-defense and defense of others and that there was no state criminal liability for their use of deadly force.
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OFFICER BACKGROUND:
Sgt. Dennis Eddy had approximately 22 years with the Bakersfield Police Department at the time of Boles' killing. Eddy had a significant prior shooting in 2008, when he and Officer Joseph Cooley exchanged gunfire with 36-year-old Leon Anderson Jr. in Bakersfield. Anderson was killed, while Eddy was shot in the leg and also struck in the chest, where his ballistic vest stopped the bullet. Eddy returned fire during that fatal encounter.
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Sgt. Ryan McWilliams had approximately 18 years with BPD when Boles was killed. McWilliams had previously been involved in a February 2019 police shooting of Anthony Markis Ramirez, who survived with major injuries. McWilliams and Detective Isaac Aleman fired multiple rounds during that encounter. A civil lawsuit alleged excessive force and battery and reported that Ramirez was left paralyzed. BPD's Critical Incident Review Board subsequently determined that McWilliams and Aleman acted within department policy and legal requirements.
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Officer Brandon Price had approximately five years with BPD. During the Boles confrontation, Price was struck in his right calf by gunfire before he and McWilliams fired at Boles.
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The Kern County District Attorney's 2025 review specifically evaluated the gunfire of Eddy, McWilliams and Price and concluded that all three officers' use of deadly force was legally justified.
SOURCE LINKS :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BwlWcUckrU
https://www.kget.com/ois/coroner-ids-burglary-suspect-shot-by-officers-on-andretti-ave/
https://news.yahoo.com/bpd-finds-no-sign-man-010300481.html
https://bakersfieldnow.com/news/local/bpd-release-body-cam-video-of-officer-involved-shooting-that-killed-suspect-on-andretti-avenue-northwest-off-duty-lapd-police-officer-los-angeles-bakersfield
