Ryan Lee to get six-figure severance as Boise looks for new police chief. Here’s how much
Boise’s former police chief, Ryan Lee, will receive a nine-month severance package from the city after the mayor asked for his resignation.
The former chief, who served for 27 months before parting ways with the city earlier this month, will receive the value of nine months of salary and health insurance, according to a Monday news release from Mayor Lauren McLean’s office.
As of July 1, Lee’s annual salary was $196,352, according to information the city provided to the Idaho Statesman in response to public records request. Nine months of pay would be worth $147,264, plus the value of health insurance.
The mayor’s office announced in September that he would resign after allegations surfaced that he injured a subordinate’s neck during a demonstration, and after a number of complaints from officers about his leadership became public.
In an interview with the Statesman earlier in October, McLean said she had concluded Lee could no longer lead the department.
“If those management interventions aren’t working, and we’re now sending a department head into an environment where employees and past employees are talking about these personnel issues publicly,” McLean said in early October. “I had to ask myself, can this chief continue to do the job that the community expects? The department needs? That I expect?”
After Lee’s resignation, McLean appointed retired Boise Police Deputy Chief Ron Winegar as acting chief. On Monday, the city announced that Winegar, a 27-year veteran, would become interim chief as the department looks for a new leader.
“I’ve asked Chief Winegar to focus on the department’s most pressing needs, as the council and I start a robust search for Boise’s next police chief,” McLean said in the release. “Filling vacancies, addressing internal needs and investing in a police department that will meet the demands of our growing community – the Boise Way – are my top priorities.”
Winegar previously served as acting police chief in 2020, while the search that eventually landed on Lee was underway.
The mayor plans to pick a recruiting firm to find a new chief, which could take “up to a year,” the release said. The search will involve collaboration with the Boise City Council, the police union, community leaders and residents.
“It’s important that we get this right,” McLean said. “So, we’re launching a search that’s clear in what we need: a leader who shares Boise’s values, comes from a department with a similar culture, has proven they’re able to provide support and leadership to a team of officers committed to serving our city in the toughest of times, and a proven understanding of what’s needed in a growing city to ensure the proactive policing that affords us the community safety we all want.”
This story was originally published October 31, 2022 at 5:42 PM.
