7 Investigates got their hands on this
memo and it was recommended in this
memo that Boise Police Chief Ryan
Lee be put on administrative leave.
But after this memo came out,
he was not the head of Boise's office of
Police Accountability, wrote the memo.
Two Mayor McLean on April 5th of this
year's investigative reporter Alexandra
Duggan spoke with some officers who
spurred the writing of the memo,
and that memo to McLean and her
chief of staff says that Chief Lee
should be placed on paid leave
pending an investigation.
Into internal complaints filed
by 9 Boise police officers.
It was recommended that a third
party investigate the complaints
to give them another set of eyes.
It was also recommended that officers
be interviewed again after their
initial complaint interviews,
but some officers tell Duggan they
were never interviewed again and they
believe their concerns were ignored.
KTVB investigative reporter
Alexandra Duggan shares the story.
Boise's Office of Police Accountability
conducted an investigation into Boise
Police Chief Ryan Lee after nine
officers filed complaints against him.
Those complaints detailed
a hostile work environment,
name calling and nepotism.
Human resources sent the officers to
internal affairs to file their complaints,
but because Lee overseas internal affairs,
the officers thought they couldn't
trust the department and went to the
office of Police Accountability instead.
Jesus Hara with the OPA recommended
in a memo to Mayor McLean that
Lee be placed on leave.
He also recommended a third party
do more interviews with the
officers for the investigation.
The follow up interviews never happened,
according to former BPD
captain Matt Bryngelson.
To my knowledge, it didn't happen.
I certainly wasn't interviewed again,
so they they may have just gotten
rid of that idea altogether,
but I I didn't get talked to again.
He was one of the officers who
filed a complaint this spring.
He noted many reasons but said
the last straw was feeling.
He was being pushed out.
So I I served the city of
Boise for almost 25 years,
quarter century over half my
life and it got to a point where.
I just couldn't come in and and he
every day anymore because it was
just so hostile and caustic and it
was just impossible to to function.
So I got to a point where I had to
reach out and get professional mental
health counseling and when I came
back I was being asked regularly, hey,
how much longer you going to stay?
When are you going to quit?
How much long you to stay?
It was clear that I wasn't
wanted there anymore.
Former Captain Tom Fleming also felt
like he was being pushed out and that
his ideas and experience was unneeded.
Fleming does not want his face on camera
because of the job he's currently working.
I was in a meeting with the chief.
And. We were talking about an
internal investigation and he said
this is the way I want this done and
I wasn't really on board with it.
I kind of put up a little bit
of resistance professionally.
Just told him that the reason it
was being done this way was this,
and he said it's I want it done
this way and that's it.
And if this gets to be too much for you,
you can go to Percy and look
at your retirement options,
Boise Mayor Lauren McLean told KTVB in
an exclusive interview Friday that the
department is asking for. Change along
with change, when we're asking
officers to change the way they
do some of their practices and to
accept reforms at the Council have
passed like no knock warrants,
strangleholds use of force body
cams and new training protocols,
you know, we need management
that supports that change,
McLean said. The public can be
assured that they are still safe,
I can assure you,
and I want to assure the public that
we're getting to the bottom of this.
We're asking many questions
we've actively reviewed.
Reports we've received have
commissioned third party reviews
and provided and received feedback.
We've looked at policies that
needed change and we've set
management expectations and will
hold management accountable,
the Mayor's chief of staff,
Courtney Washburn, said.
The city did do its own investigation
and the statement to 7 Investigates.
Washburn said she reviewed the
information and asked for a third party
opinion she wrote that independent
investigation determined that
there was no violation of city or.
DPD policy or procedure that would
support the action of administrative
leave in regards to the chief of police.
The investigation also indicated that
several complaints were already under
investigation by other agencies and
or the Office of Internal Affairs.
Bring Wilson said that five
officers left under Lee,
wiping out an entire command staff.
And morale, Fleming said,
seemed terribly low under the chief.
Rank and file officers from guys who've
been there for a couple years or less,
all the way up to 25 year officers
to sergeants, lieutenants,
other command members and
professional staff members,
civilian employees of our
department that would come in and
literally sit in my office and cry
about things that were going on.
In Fleming's 30 year career,
he has never seen any officer
continue working pending an
investigation, criminal or not,
when this happened and he was not.
Suspended. That really blew
up the amount of people coming
to my office and complaining.
Want to know why.
I want to know why we had a a particular
employee who had done allegedly done
something he was suspended for.
This alleged crime.
But why is the chief not?
And I only thing I could tell them
is that when this first started is
the explanation was given to me from
city legal was that the chief has a
different boss than the rest of you.
KTVB obtained emails from an internal
source with BPD detailing how chiefly
allegedly called his employees
stupid and dumb, made employees cry,
called Boiseans derogatory terms and
retaliated against certain officers
who spoke out against him in favored
officers he brought in from Portland.
In meetings OPAC investigated these
complaints and documented it all an
entire binders. Earful of records.
They recommended on April 5th
that Lee be put on leave.
The officers waited.
When the officers asked OP
about the investigation,
they were told on May 9th that
the mayor had an outside counsel
reviewed the investigation, I,
Asus Hara wrote in an e-mail
to an officer quote.
I was informed that the city has
completed their review and it was
determined that there were no violations
of city BPD policy or procedure.
The outside council did suggest an
update to some policies and procedures
to ensure clarity moving forward.
The OP office does not plan on
investigating this further as it
has turned into a personal matter.
Right.
Bring Wilson said that when
the chief was hired,
he was ready to adapt to any decisions
he would make and that he was actually
very excited for the transition.
It was incumbent upon me to embrace change,
and that's what I did at the beginning.
As far as you know.
Were we disgruntled about it?
I I loved my job.
I had the dream job,
I had a fantastic career.
I was nearing the twilight should
be the best time of my career.
I was in the most what I consider to be the
most important job a police officer can have.
As the patrol commander, I deeply.
Cared about every one of the officers
that worked for me, my canine units,
my civilians that worked for me.
I I deeply cared and met with them regularly.
Even after retirement.
Fleming and Bingson 2 veteran law
enforcement officers still love
their teams and their BPD officers.
They are sad that they
have to leave them behind.
To be honest, I felt guilty for
leaving when I did because I felt
like I was leaving some of these guys
behind in those in that condition
to basically fight on their own,
so to speak. And so there's a lot
of angst in that decision.
And Alexandra Duggan joins
us live here on the 208.
And Alex, I want to dig into some of the
stuff you talked about in your story.
Some might say that the officers
that spoke to you and that complain,
maybe they have an axe to grind.
Maybe they have a personal
problem with Chief Lee.
Maybe there's only a couple of
people that just didn't like the way
the chief was really doing things
when he came here from Portland.
What insight do you have on that
conversation about this being system wide
or a few people with an axe to grind?
Well, Joe, it's not just a couple
officers who are disgruntled or upset.
This is a lot of officers that have
an issue with the alleged name.
Calling and belittling and hostile
work environment that is taking place.
And I mean, Tom Fleming even said these
officers would come into my office and cry.
They would just cry to me about this.
And you know, they felt that their
concerns weren't being heard or
wouldn't be heard because just
of the politics surrounding the
chief coming in from Portland and
we heard from the mayor and the
mayor's office has said to us,
you know, they didn't find any
reason to put Chief Lee on leave.
You know, in terms of city policy
during the criminal investigation.
I know we've seen questions today about.
OK, well why wasn't he put on leave?
Was this unusual?
Do officers usually get
put on leave like this?
Right? So Fleming did tell
me that this is unusual,
especially we know that there was a criminal
investigation that had taken place.
We've never faced charges for that.
But Fleming did say it was unusual.
He wasn't placed on leave for that.
It is unusual now because officers can
be placed on leave for certain things,
like having a relationship with a
confidential informant outside of work.
They can be placed on leave
for things like that.
And Lee was never placed on leave.
And we know you spoke to the
mayor here today and you know,
these allegations,
the situation is very serious.
And the obvious question becomes where
does the city of Boise go from here?
How do they reconcile these alleged
incidents that's going on here?
Did the mayor have any insight
on where they go from here?
Well, Joe, the mayor did say
that there was no policy
violations for this investigation,
so it wasn't really continued further.
But she did say that it
warrants further discussion.
There will be further discussion with
the Office of Police Accountability,
the Chief, the city and the police
union and the public is going to
be made aware of anything that
happens in regards to the situation.
And we'll see where it goes from here.
Alexandra Duggan here with
us on the 208 on your.
Friday, she's gonna keep
digging into this story.
It's it's far from over.
But for now, we're gonna step aside.
The 208 continues right after this.