BOISE -- A police-involved shooting incident six months ago has Boise's police chief looking for help from the federal government.
It was back in July 2009 that Boise Police officers responded to a home where shots had been fired. When they arrived they found George Nickel Jr. in full body armor carrying a handgun and rifle.
What they didn't know that summer day was that Nickel suffered from a serious war injury.
Nickel was a staff sergeant for the U.S. Army and a decorated war vet who was injured by a roadside bomb.
Nickel suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and has a traumatic brain injury. It is believed that pushed the mild-mannered man over the edge when his dog went missing.
It's a problem that Boise Police Chief Mike Masterson says more veterans are suffering from, and he wants to get more help to struggling vets before another situation escalates to violence.
"This isn't just the Boise Police Department, this is police nationwide, I mean, we have so many veterans that are coming back, we don't know what effective screening they get," said Masterson.
Masterson is turning to Idaho's congressional delegation to push for better veteran services.
In a letter to our state's four leaders, he's asking for better screening when veterans return from war-torn countries.
The Boise Police Department has 94 veterans out of its 400 employees.
On the Net: Boise Vet Center
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