Retired Boise police captain files lawsuit against city, alleges wrongdoing by ex-chief

A former Boise police captain has filed a whistleblower complaint against the city, alleging that he was discriminated and retaliated against by former Boise Police Department Chief Ryan Lee, and told to not follow department policy.

Thomas R. Fleming, who was captain of the division that conducts internal investigations, filed the complaint on Tuesday. The lawsuit was first reported Thursday by KTVB.

Fleming alleges that the retaliation against him was for conducting internal investigations, and he is requesting damages and reinstatement of his benefits.

Lee resigned at Mayor Lauren McLean’s request in September, following allegations from a number of officers that Lee had retaliated against them or otherwise behaved improperly. This came on the heels of an investigation into Lee over an incident that nearly resulted in criminal charges. Shortly after the allegations from officers were made public, the chief stepped down.

A Boise spokesperson, Maria Weeg, told the Idaho Statesman by text that the city could not comment on pending litigation. An attorney representing Lee could not immediately be reached for comment. Lee is not a named party in the lawsuit.

Generally, grievances with city agencies in Idaho must first be filed as tort claims, which provide an opportunity to settle disputes before they wind up in court. An attorney representing Fleming, J. Grady Hepworth, told the Statesman that Idaho law regarding whistleblowers doesn’t require that a tort claim be filed first.

Hepworth and Fleming declined to comment further.

‘The chief has a different boss than the rest of you’

In January, a Boise police supervisor told the city’s Human Resources department of some allegations against Lee, which were later routed to Fleming at the department’s internal affairs office, which is overseen by Lee.

Fleming’s lawsuit contends that Lee and other city employees “on multiple occasions” interfered with ongoing misconduct investigations, and “otherwise implemented rules and/or policies that unreasonably restricted employees’ ability to document and report the existence of waste of public funds, property, manpower, or suspected violations of laws, rules, or regulations,” according to a copy of the complaint obtained by the Statesman.

In one instance, Fleming was investigating a Boise police officer who had been involved in a fatal shooting, as was standard department practice, according to the complaint. When the captain determined after a preliminary investigation that his findings “may merit severe disciplinary actions,” Lee “intervened and demanded that Capt. Fleming end all further investigation” and his communications with an outside agency investigating the incident, the Custer County District Attorney’s Office, according to the complaint.

In October 2021, two weeks after Lee allegedly injured a subordinate, Kirk Rush, during a demonstration at a staff meeting, Rush reported the incident. Because Rush had requested to file a criminal complaint, Fleming referred the investigation to the Idaho State Police to avoid a conflict of interest, according to the complaint.

While state police investigated, Lee was not placed on leave, as often happens when an officer is investigated.

Fleming discussed the issue with the city’s legal department and was told, “The chief has a different boss than the rest of you,” the complaint alleges.

Around the same time, Fleming became aware of other allegations from employees about the chief’s behavior, which were not forwarded to an outside agency and instead investigated by the city’s Office of Police Accountability, according to the complaint.

At McLean’s request, a law firm later reviewed the allegations and found no violations of department policy or law, according to previous Statesman reporting. After that, the city decided to not place the chief on leave.

Knee surgery for police captain

In November 2021, Fleming had knee-replacement surgery, and he alleges that after returning to work, he was discriminated against by Lee.

When he returned to work, which followed his participation in investigations involving Lee, Fleming alleges that he was harassed by the chief, who “attempted to force Capt. Fleming to resign or retire against his will,” according to the lawsuit.

Lee made “disparaging” comments about a limp Fleming had related to the surgery, and repeatedly asked him about his plans to retire, which Fleming, who is older than 40, said he did not plan to do until at least March 2024.

Fleming was also approached by the deputy chief, Tammany Brooks, with a similar question about his retirement plans, the lawsuit said.

“Chief Lee’s hostility towards Capt. Fleming thereafter escalated, with Chief Lee becoming openly hostile towards Capt. Fleming, including raising his voice and using profanity,” according to the lawsuit. The chief also “began further interfering” with Fleming’s investigation responsibilities, the suit said.

Human rights training

Lee had instructed Fleming to discipline officers who did not complete human rights training by a certain deadline, according to the suit. When one officer did not meet that deadline, Fleming began an internal affairs investigation, which the deputy chief had confirmed was “the proper course of conduct,” the suit alleges.

The officer who had not completed the training formerly served in Portland, where Lee used to work, before coming to Boise in January 2021.

“The following day, Chief Lee stormed into Capt. Fleming’s office, shut the door and interjected, ‘When the hell were you going to tell me about the investigation ... !?” according to the suit, and attempted to pressure Fleming into providing the officer with “preferential treatment.”

When Fleming told Lee he was following the chief’s own orders about the training deadlines, Lee accused Fleming of “committing a ‘racist act,’” the suit alleged.

The officer resigned from the department last August, according to records obtained by the Statesman.

After further insinuations from Lee that Fleming should retire, Fleming was “constructively discharged” this year on July 15, the suit said.

Constructive discharge generally refers to instances in which an employee resigns or retires involuntarily because of a hostile work environment, according to the Department of Labor.

In a July Facebook post, Boise police announced Fleming’s retirement.

“Best wishes to Cpt. Tom Fleming for a long and happy retirement!” the post read.

Reporter Alex Brizee contributed.