BREAKING NEWS, Chief Lee out as Boise police chief.

 


 

 

The official statement from the mayor's office.

At the request of Mayor Lauren McLean, Chief Ryan Lee has resigned from his position with the Boise Police Department, effective October 14, 2022. Lee will be on leave for the rest of his tenure.

 

McLean has appointed retired officer Ron Winegar as acting chief. He is expected to start on Tuesday, September 27, 2022. Winegar is well known to the community and to the department, having spent 27 years as a Boise Police Officer.


The following was written and published moments before the story broke.

 

In life, business, and politics, we're judged not only by our actions but by the actions of the people we hire and those who work for us. How many times have we seen someone who moved into Idaho with all the promise and background to succeed only to fail because they didn't respect the culture?

In the military, they used to call it home country sensitivities; in other words, you respect the culture and values of where you live. Big word alert, one doesn't want to be ethnocentric when moving to a new city, state, or country. What does that word mean? Ethnocentric is where you judge a culture by your standards and not that of the home country. A best-selling book was written about the topic called "The Ugly American."

What does all the previous sociology do with Boise Police Chief Ryan Lee? If you do a simple Google search for the Boise police chief, it doesn't look good for him.

Here are the three top stories:

Internal complaints, early retirements: what do we know about the investigation into Boise's police chief? 

Troubling report from prosecutor about Boise police chief's actions demands explanation

Investigation into Boise police chief showed 'close call,' evidence of possible crime

The first story is from channel 7 and is very thorough and detailed. In their exclusive they produce internal documents, folks retiring, including one guy how paid over one hundred grand to get out of the Boise Police Department because of the chief's leadership.  

I suggest you read all three stories, especially the first one where officers have been led to tears because of the alleged behavior of Chief Lee.  (Remember these media outlets do not air or publishing anything without triple checking their sources, one has to wonder what they left out of their exclusive?)

We have independently heard from several law enforcement associates that the Boise Police Department is challenged to fill recruitment goals due to rapid retirements, turnover and transfers since Chief Lee came to town from Portland.

The chief has openly created several hyphenated officers to deal with select communities in Boise. He was investigated for using too much force on a fellow officer during a demonstration. Boise city officials did not investigate the chief's actions, although the Idaho State Police did investigate him.

The prosecutor's report should be very concerning from the Idaho Statesman's account. 

"A county prosecutor's office recommended no criminal charges against Lee, who was accused of seriously injuring a high-ranking officer. But new records obtained by the Idaho Statesman showed the prosecutor who investigated said there was probable cause to support a criminal charge of felony battery."

Now the Editorial board has called out Boise Mayor McLean's judgment for hiring Chief Lee:

"City leadership, specifically Mayor McLean and perhaps Boise City Council members, need to step up to the plate and reassure the community of what's going on here. They need to explain what steps they're taking with Lee or explain why they're not taking any action at all. The silence is deafening. Sweeping this under the rug and hoping it goes away is not a proper course of action."

Mayor McLean ran on a platform that she would listen to the people of Boise. So far, her lack of action on Chief Lee is deafening. 

10 Bad Driving Habits That Could Get You in Trouble With the Police in Idaho

Look Inside Boise's 10 Most Affordable Homes for Sale

In September 2022, these were the 10 most affordable homes on the market in Boise. All of them have a price tag of less than $350,000!

Utah Political Candidate Leaves Internet in Awe

Did she go there? Yes, yes she did. We really can't believe we're sharing this but an elderly political candidate just hours from Boise, in Utah's District 12, dropped a rap music video announcing her candidacy.

Take a look as we break down the music video & check out the video for yourself, below!

More From Idaho’s Talk Station