Complaints against Boise police chief were reported months ago. What the mayor knew
Boise Mayor Lauren McLean last week publicly said her “management” discussions about Boise Police Chief Ryan Lee stemmed from new information, appearing to refer to a story published by KTVB that detailed employee allegations against Lee.
Hours later, the city announced McLean asked the chief to resign.
But emails reviewed by the Idaho Statesman showed the mayor was informed of the allegations against Lee at least as early as April.
“In light of the information that I saw last night, I’ve had conversations with him,” McLean told the Idaho Statesman the morning after KTVB’s story published, and hours before she asked Lee to step down. “I’m talking today with the union. I’m talking today with the City Council. And we’re creating a path forward.”
The Office of Police Accountability in an April 5 memo — sent to McLean and Chief of Staff Courtney Washburn — recommended that Lee be placed on paid administrative leave after OPA Director Jesus Jara met with nine officers, including senior leaders, concerning allegations against the police chief. An email from Jara to other employees said the office sent a copy of the report with allegations to Washburn and McLean. An internal review concluded that Lee didn’t violate any city policies, according to a May 9 email from Jara.
“Due to his position in the department, his placement on leave will create an environment where a fair and thorough investigation can be completed,” Jara wrote in the memo. He added that placing Lee on leave will “display due diligence,” limit liability and give everyone involved an equal opportunity.
The emails on the allegations and Jara’s memo were provided to the Statesman by a source after reporters could not obtain them through the city’s public records process. The city denied the Statesman’s records request for documents related to the allegations on Sept. 15 and Sept. 23.
A Boise police supervisor, in an email to human resources, outlined some of the complaints officers brought against Lee, including that he allegedly retaliated against officers, made derogatory comments about residents and brought “substandard training” to the department.
Jara, in the memo, recommended that while an investigation should continue, the “complexity of the concerns” might need to be handled by a third-party firm that specializes in “reviewing employment law and potentially hostile work environments.” The third-party firm was not identified.
“We believe that hiring a third-party firm will provide the city of Boise with the best resolution possible,” Jara wrote in the memo.
A month later, the investigation into Lee was closed after the firm determined he didn’t violate any city or Boise Police policies, according to a May 9 email from Jara reviewed by the Statesman.
Jara also encouraged anyone with “lingering concerns” to reach out directly to McLean and Washburn about their experience with Lee.
McLean told the Statesman last week that she directed the third-party review because she needed the outside firm to take complaints, compare them to the department’s policy and see if any policies were broken. Boise City Council President Elaine Clegg told the Statesman by phone that third-party reviews are often used.
Clegg also said she didn’t know specifics about the review yet, but expected to get additional information.
“I should note, it’s a personnel issue, so much of this will still be privileged information,” Clegg said.
The mayor’s office didn’t grant requests for an interview with McLean after asking for a list of questions. The office also didn’t respond to several questions the Statesman submitted last week.
Lee’s resignation takes effect Oct. 14, and he will be on paid leave until then. Boise police didn’t respond to a request for an interview with Lee last week.
Allegations against Lee reported in January
The Office of Police Accountability was not the first department notified of the allegations against Lee.
On Jan. 19, the Boise police supervisor notified Director of Human Resources Sarah Borden of allegations against Lee. Between Jan. 19 and Feb. 2, the supervisor met with Borden and Sarah Martin, who also works with the human resources department. According to the Boise Police Department Policy and Procedure Manual, employees are expected to report any information that indicates “any employee has violated a law, rule, regulation, or order.”
Just a few days later, on Feb. 9, Martin notified the employee that human resources would not be investigating Lee, and that the investigation would be forwarded to then-Boise Police Internal Affairs Captain Tom Fleming. Fleming retired in July.
The employee responded and expressed concerns about the Office of Internal Affairs investigating Lee. The office reports to the chief of police, Boise police spokesperson Haley Williams told the Statesman by text.
“This is an obvious conflict of interest that certainly cannot be ignored and on its face is shockingly unethical,” the supervisor’s email said.
In the emails, the supervisor also stated that he didn’t believe Borden and Martin made the decision to hand off the investigation to Internal Affairs “on their own.” The employee wrote that Borden and Martin “appeared genuinely concerned about the allegations and seemed to take interest in investigating them.”
Borden and Martin told the employee that they would review and report the complaints to their supervisors. Borden reports to Washburn, according to the emails.
The emails also state that once human resources handed the investigation to Internal Affairs, Lee was notified of the allegations and asked Fleming about them. It’s unclear how Lee was notified.
The Office of Police Accountability was notified of the allegations in late February, according to the emails. Jara and nine Boise police employees then met sometime between February and April regarding the complaints.
Boise council member ‘blindsided’ by Lee’s resignation
Just hours before the announcement of Lee’s resignation, McLean told Idaho Statesman Opinion Editor Scott McIntosh that she was having “conversations about management” specifically with the Boise police union and City Council.
But at least three council members told the Statesman that they didn’t find out about Lee’s resignation until the news broke or via an internal email that was sent to council members shortly before the public announcement.
Council Member Luci Willits said she was “blindsided” by the resignation. Council Members Patrick Bageant and Jimmy Hallyburton told the Statesman in phone interviews that they were “surprised” and “shocked.”
“I definitely wish I would have got a call that the mayor was asking the police chief to resign,” Willits told the Statesman by phone. “As a council member, I would have expected that courtesy.”
Clegg told the Statesman via text that City Council leadership — which includes Clegg and Council President Pro Tem Holli Woodings — was informed of Lee’s “impending resignation.”
Clegg also said the decision to ask for Lee’s resignation “was a result of management issues.”
“The allegations of misconduct are separate from the management issues, and City Council does have questions about how they were processed,” she said. “The mayor and her staff were leading the effort to address the management issues. That is her job.”
Willits and other council members told the Statesman that they are trying to gather and unravel information.
“I think there is going to be a reckoning on what should have happened,” Willits told the Statesman. “How do we move forward? And what do we need to do as a city to ensure that we have the best public safety possible?”
Bageant told the Statesman that he has faith in the mayor’s office to provide additional information regarding the investigation into Lee. He said he has seen a “real effort” by McLean and the City Council to communicate and share information.
“I have faith I will be given, the rest of the council will be given, everything that it asks for — I’m not concerned about that,” Bageant said.
This story was originally published September 29, 2022 at 5:09 PM.
