‘Offensive, retaliatory’: Officer accuses Caldwell police chief of sexual harassment
An officer has accused Caldwell Police Chief Rex Ingram of engaging in a pattern of “inappropriate, gender-based, sexual, possessive and retaliatory behavior,” according to a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho.
Caldwell Police Officer Allison Butler accused Ingram of violating her civil rights by creating a hostile work environment, discriminating against her, and retaliating against her when she reported the discrimination and harassment. The lawsuit, which the Idaho Statesman obtained, was also filed against the city and its police department.
In the 24-page lawsuit, Butler detailed several interactions in which Ingram allegedly made “offensive” and “gendered” comments about her appearance, and an October 2023 incident in which Ingram allegedly attempted to solicit a sex worker during a work trip.
Ingram took over the department’s top job in 2022 amid an FBI investigation that prompted the federal indictment of two officers. He previously worked for the Los Angeles Police Department for nearly 17 years.
In July 2022, Butler said that she’d been working out in the police department’s weight room in work-out clothes when Ingram — whom she had not met yet — “looked her up and down” and said he didn’t realize she was an officer, and thought she was “just some BSU cheerleader wandering the halls,” according to the complaint.
“This comment was deeply offensive to Off. Butler and signaled that the new chief believed her physical appearance meant she couldn’t be a police officer,” Butler’s Boise-based attorney Erika Birch wrote in the lawsuit.
Ingram continued to frequently make comments about Butler’s appearance, according to the lawsuit, at one point referring to her and another female employee as “smoking hot chicks.” The complaint also alleged Ingram told Butler his friends often asked him who “that hot female cop” was, referring to her.
The city held a brief press conference at 5 p.m. Friday at which Mayor Jarom Wagoner read a prepared statement and walked away, taking no questions. Wagoner urged the public to “avoid drawing any conclusions” while also saying, “We are confident in Chief Ingram’s leadership and professionalism, and firmly stand behind him during the legal process.”
Wagoner said Ingram “is entitled to a fair and impartial review of the allegations.”
“I would like to express our full support for Police Chief Ingram as he faces the recent lawsuit brought against him and the city.”
Asked for further comment, Birch told the Statesman: “We are not in a position to comment at this time other than what was provided in the lawsuit.”
Complaint: Ingram asked about ‘sex with the group’
One of Ingram’s more “disturbing” actions, Butler alleged in the complaint, was during a work trip in October 2023 when Butler, Ingram and three other officers traveled to Los Angeles for a funeral. One night during the trip, Ingram drove the officers through a rougher part of Hollywood and attempted to solicit a sex worker, according to the complaint.
Ingram allegedly drove up to a young sex worker, rolled down the back window where Butler was sitting and encouraged her to talk to the woman, despite Butler’s “obvious discomfort” with the situation, the lawsuit said. Butler said she felt “cornered” and instead asked the woman for directions and made small talk, according to the suit.
The complaint alleged that Ingram then drove up to another group of sex workers and asked one of the male co-workers in the vehicle to speak to one of the women. The employee refused, and Ingram once again drove up to another group of sex workers and asked them how much it would be for one of them to have “sex with the group,” the complaint said.
“During all these interactions, Off. Butler’s demeanor and body language indicated that she was uncomfortable with the situation, as did the other female officer’s demeanor and body language,” the complaint said.
Butler said Ingram’s behavior along with other concerns prompted her to begin applying for other jobs.
In January 2023, Butler was given a conditional employment offer with the Nampa Police Department. Butler was required to take a polygraph test as a part of the hiring process, and during her pre-exam interview, she disclosed that she was in a romantic relationship with a higher-ranking officer, which she had not shared with her co-workers.
The test examiner said he’d need to consult the Nampa police chief about her relationship disclosure, and once Ingram was informed about the relationship, he had the department conduct an internal investigation into Butler and her partner.
The male lieutenant was given a written reprimand and placed on a two-week unpaid suspension for failing to notify the department about his relationship and “unbecoming conduct,” the complaint said. Ingram allegedly told the lieutenant that he wasn’t going to be demoted or fired but that this was “going to be the most expensive” relationship he’d ever have, the complaint said, with Ingram using a profane term for female genitalia.
Butler was placed on a one-week unpaid suspension and given a written reprimand for “unbecoming conduct” and untruthfulness, which Butler said was a “death knell” in law enforcement because it could affect her ability to get another job.
In November 2023, Butler and her romantic partner were called into a meeting with several department leaders, including Ingram, and they were accused of causing rumors about their relationship and being too public in the workplace.
The complaint said the interaction felt “hostile, disciplinary in nature and intended to drive a wedge” between Butler and the lieutenant. Then a few weeks later, internal affairs opened another investigation into Butler.
This time the investigation was over allegations that she failed to complete a search warrant and a probable cause affidavit, the complaint said. Specifically, Butler was accused of conduct unbecoming, neglect of duty and insubordination.
The investigation concluded that Butler lacked “the competency and maturity” to serve as a detective, the complaint said. She was demoted and placed on a two-week unpaid suspension.
“It was clear to Off. Butler at this stage that the chief and CPD were setting her up for termination,” Birch wrote in the complaint. “Thus, her concerns about what would happen to her if she reported the chief’s inappropriate, harassing, discriminate and now retaliatory behavior were significantly lessened and she decided to make a report.”
Outside attorney hired to investigate chief, complaint says
In January 2024, Butler reported the allegations against Ingram to Wagoner and then-Human Resources Director Shelli Boggie, prompting the city to hire an outside attorney to investigate the chief, according to the lawsuit.
Doug Plass, a Boise-based employment lawyer, interviewed Butler in February 2024 about her complaints, and Butler said she expressed “grave concern” that she would be retaliated against for coming forward, the lawsuit said.
The next day, Feb. 6, 2024, Butler was placed on paid administrative leave to protect her from retaliation during the investigation, according to the complaint, which Butler said sent a message to others in the police department that she’d been accused of misconduct.
Butler said she didn’t hear from anyone for nearly two months aside from answering some follow-up questions from the investigator. On March 29, Butler said that Boggie emailed to inform her that the investigation was completed and that she was expected to return to work.
The city’s HR department informed her that it was “taking appropriate action” regarding the investigation and declined to provide her with any additional information because it was a personnel matter, according to the lawsuit.
Butler said that once she returned to work, the department’s administration continued to target her and it triggered a post-traumatic stress injury, which caused her to have panic attacks and made it impossible for her to focus and perform her job safely, the lawsuit said. She went on workers’ compensation leave in April and hasn’t returned to work.
“Butler knows she cannot safely return to work at CPD with that chain of command in place and in particular the chief,” Birch wrote in the lawsuit.
Ingram under investigation for misuse of public funds
This newest lawsuit comes amid an Idaho State Police investigation into Ingram’s spending, which prompted a lawsuit from an officer who alleged that he was fired “because he dared question” the chief’s conduct.
Last March, an anonymous letter was sent to the Canyon County Prosecutor’s Office alleging that the trainings Ingram attended were actually “extravagant vacations” funded with taxpayer dollars.
Canyon County Prosecutor Bryan Taylor, who left the agency last year, then tapped state police to open an independent investigation, which was closed in July after an outside prosecutor concluded Ingram didn’t violate state law. Months later, ISP reopened the investigation.
Spokesperson Aaron Snell previously told the Statesman that the agency was asked to “investigate allegations that the Caldwell Police Department misused public funds.” He said in an email Friday that the investigation is pending review by an outside prosecutor.
“While we understand the public’s interest, this is an active investigation, and we are unable to provide additional details at this time,” Snell said in December. “Our focus is on conducting a thorough and impartial review.”
In an August interview with the Statesman regarding Ingram’s spending, the chief alluded to sexual harassment allegations and said he’d been cleared of any wrongdoing.
“Those were investigated, and I was cleared of those as well,” Ingram said in an in-person interview. “I don’t have any sustained sexual harassment complaints against me. I am not a sexual harasser.
“I despise and hate bosses that do that to their employees, specifically male bosses with female employees.”
This story was originally published February 7, 2025 at 4:19 PM.
