Boise police officer said lieutenant sold guns in his city office. Here’s what happened

The city of Boise has settled a whistleblower lawsuit with an officer who accused a now-retired lieutenant of selling guns and other tactical equipment from his office while on duty.

The city settled the case for $375,000, according to a spokesperson.

Norman ”Denny” Carter, a 26-year Boise Police veteran, accused former Lt. Greg Oster of openly selling weapons from his for-profit business, Spar Tactical LLC, while on duty at the Boise Police Department’s office at City Hall West. Carter said the commerce happened “with the full knowledge and acquiescence of BPD command staff.”

In his lawsuit, Carter said Oster had created a “storefront” at his office where he displayed tactical products, and also displayed stickers advertising products he sold on his police vehicle.

Over a period of several years, Carter complained about Oster’s business activities, and the lawsuit said Oster retaliated against him for raising his ethical concerns.

Carter sued the city in 2018 and again in 2019, according to court records. The cases were later consolidated.

Carter alleges that Oster, who began operating Spar Tactical in 2012, was also a member of the Uniform Safety Committee, which “selects and recommends the equipment to be purchased by the city for BPD officers.” Carter said Oster “used his influence and discretion of his official position” to recommend the department purchase equipment from vendors Oster had a business relationship with.

“The settlement was reached after both parties evaluated the merits of the case and the resources required for further litigation,” Mayor Lauren McLean’s office said in a news release.

A spokesperson for McLean, Maria Weeg, said the city had settled the suit for $375,000. In his complaint, Carter had asked for back pay, damages suffered, reinstatement to his instructor positions and other relief. An accountant hired by Carter determined he had lost over $109,000 in wages and close to $240,000 in retirement benefits as a result.

It is unclear what aspects, if any, of Carter’s demands were covered by the settlement announced Monday.

“Carter claimed he was deprived of overtime and other opportunities because he complained to superiors about a fellow officer purportedly selling police gear and other equipment out of his BPD office,” Weeg said in an email. “The city denies that Carter was retaliated against.”

“The case is settled and the client is satisfied with the settlement and stands by the information that’s publicly available through the courts,” Howard Belodoff, an attorney for Carter, told the Statesman by phone.

Oster did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Lawsuit claims retaliation

Carter believed that Oster’s business operations violated the city’s ethical rules, and complained to superiors on at least three occasions between 2015 and 2017, according to the complaint.

In 2015, Carter told the deputy chief at the time, Eugene Smith, about the weapons Oster was selling. Sometime later, Carter said he saw that Smith had himself purchased a rifle from Oster’s business.

“It then became apparent to Cpl. Carter that Deputy Chief Smith had no intention of resolving this issue because he was doing business with Lt. Oster,” the complaint said.

After Carter complained to superiors, he said Oster, who had become his direct supervisor, began excluding him from meetings, questioned his work, harassed him, and removed him from a teaching role at the police academy, according to the complaint.

After he complained to another deputy chief, Scott Mulcahy, in 2016, Carter was reinstated to his training role, according to the complaint.

In 2017, Carter resigned his full-time role as an instructor on use of force issues but stayed on as a part-time teacher, and joined the Patrol Division, according to the complaint. In October of that year, Oster fired Carter from his part-time role.

That December, Carter filed a complaint with the city, which prompted a formal investigation by the city, the complaint said.

Carter’s complaint also accused the chief of police at the time, William Bones, of implying that his complaints were “meritless,” saying in an email to the department that there were “an amazing number of false facts about current and some recent past investigations and the employees involved.”

Bones did not respond to a request for comment.

After an internal investigation, Oster retired in 2018, according to previous Statesman reporting.

Carter remains in the Patrol Division, and has “some instructor certificates,” a police department spokesperson, Haley Williams, said in an email.

The lawsuit had been scheduled to go to trial in February.