Caldwell mayor said he’d fire controversial police chief. Is a lawsuit next?
The city of Caldwell could soon be sued — again.
But this time, the plaintiff could be its police department’s leader, Chief Rex Ingram, who has been the accused in several lawsuits since his arrival.
Ingram, who has been embroiled in more than one case, has filed a tort claim against Mayor Eric Phillips for alleged “ongoing political retaliation, defamation, harassment, threats,” and interference with his employment rights under state and federal law. He’s asking for damages in the excess of $500,000.
In his three-page complaint, Ingram accused the recently elected mayor, along with other unnamed employees, of engaging in efforts to “intimidate” and “force his resignation through improper means.”
The claim pointed to a leaked recording of the then-mayor-elect, saying in November that he was going to “get rid” of the police chief once he took office. Ingram, at the time, characterized the recording as “troubling,” adding that he planned to continue leading the police department to the best of his ability.
In the voice memo — which was accidentally sent to the wrong person and publicized by several news outlets — Phillips explained that he was going to look into all the allegations and then “fire his a** anyways,” according to the recording, which was published in its entirety by Idaho News 6.
“If I say right now publicly that I’m going to fire him, it runs the risk of a huge civil suit for wrongful termination,” he said. “That being said, I’m choosing the legalistic term of ‘making an informed decision.’”
Phillips added later in the recording that if he publicly admitted to wanting to dismiss Ingram, it could get him into “hot water” once he was in office — which seems to be exactly what’s happening.
Ingram accused city officials — in particular, the mayor — of orchestrating “a coordinated effort against him” by using city resources and their positions of authority,” his attorney, Shemia Fagan, wrote in his claim. The city has threatened and planned his “wrongful termination,” the claim added.
In a statement, the city called the chief’s claims “vague,” adding that they lacked merit and were a “baseless demand on taxpayer resources.”
Caldwell’s insurer has paid over $2M in claims against Ingram
If Ingram ends up suing — a tort claim is a necessary precursor — this would be the fifth lawsuit against the city in less than two years. So far, Caldwell’s insurer has paid out more than $2 million to settle various claims, all of which alleged wrongdoing by the chief.
One of the claims, filed by the chief’s former executive assistant, Gabriela Gudino, alleging sexual harassment and gender discrimination, was settled in 2024 by the Idaho Counties Risk Management Program, which provides liability and property insurance to local government agencies. It paid $150,000 before any litigation was ever filed.
Just last month, ICRMP settled with another former employee, Allison Butler, who joined the police department in 2020, for $1.5 million. The former officer accused the police chief of making “offensive” and “gendered” comments about her appearance, and said he engaged in a pattern of “inappropriate, gender-based, sexual, possessive and retaliatory behavior.”
Before she decided to sue, Butler reported the allegations to then-Mayor Jarom Wagoner, who asked Shelli Boggie, the city’s human resources director at the time, to conduct an investigation. She did that alongside the city attorney’s office and the mayor’s office.
Then, on Boggie’s advice, the city asked Doug Plass, of Idaho Employment Lawyers, to conduct an outside investigation into complaints against Ingram, and to issue a report to “inform the city’s response,” according to court filings.
The findings of that report haven’t been publicized, but several of the allegations were substantiated, while others were not, according to Boggie’s lawsuit. Based on the “totality of the circumstances,” including HR’s treatment of employees who had exhibited similar conduct in the past, Boggie developed a recommendation, her lawsuit read.
Boggie also sued the city, along with the mayor, over allegations that she wasn’t reappointed to her position after conducting the investigation. The city and ICRMP settled with her for $400,000.
Her lawsuit doesn’t explicitly state what that recommendation was — but in a deposition recording for another lawsuit published last month on a Caldwell Facebook page, Ingram admitted that Boggie recommended his termination.
Wagoner declined to consider her recommendation, according to the lawsuit. And he allegedly modified the letter sent to the chief by excluding several substantiated findings, the lawsuit claimed.
When asked during a deposition whether he was disciplined for sexual harassment, Ingram responded that he wasn’t. He was, however, disciplined for allowing two employees, Butler and Gudino, to baby-sit his children, he said.
Ingram previously alluded to the sexual harassment allegations during an unrelated interview and said he’d been cleared of any wrongdoing. He told the Idaho Statesman during that in-person interview in August 2024 that the allegations contained “a lot of defamatory information” about him that was “completely salacious” and false.
“Those were investigated, and I was cleared of those as well,” Ingram said. “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.”
On Monday, when reached by text, Ingram declined to comment further on the tort claim, responding that he will continue to lead the men and women of the Caldwell Police Department to the best of his ability.
