Boise Police Chief Ryan Lee will not be charged after a colleague said he broke his neck at morning roll call
The Boise, Idaho police chief will not be charged after a fellow officer accused him of breaking his neck by grabbing him and demonstrating holding techniques without warning.
Boise Police Chief Ryan Lee faced an investigation into excessive use of force after he killed Sgt. Kirk Rush during a staff meeting last October.
In a tort lawsuit, Rush said Lee grabbed his neck without warning and then punched him in the forehead, throwing his head back and damaging his cervical vertebrae, eventually necessitating surgical repair.
But in a statement last week, Clearwater County Prosecutor Clayne Tyler said he advised against criminal charges in the case, saying, “I believe this investigation has been carried out as much as it can.”
Sergeant Kirk Rush (left) said Lee grabbed his neck without warning and then punched him in the forehead, throwing his head back and damaging his cervical vertebrae
Records obtained by the Idaho statesman showed Tyler told officers that while he believed there was probable cause to assist the charge against Lee with a criminal offense, he wasn’t sure if he did could prove the crime in court.
“This decision was not made lightly or without fear as it is truly a close decision,” Tyler wrote in a letter to Idaho State Police Mayor Lauren McLean and Ada County Attorney Jan Bennetts.
Clearwater County Attorney Clayne Tyler recommended that criminal charges be dismissed
“I would like to note that this was a very difficult decision,” Tyler wrote, noting that he would reopen the case if more evidence became available.
Tyler’s letter said that a medical evaluation of Rush’s injuries was inconclusive as to how much force was used, and that the type of injury he sustained “may manifest with mild violence or sometimes even with no identifiable traumatic event.” .
Boise Police Department spokeswoman Haley Williams declined to comment, and Lee declined an interview.
Lee’s attorney, Chuck Peterson, previously said that Rush’s claims were “completely untrue.”
In April, Rush filed a tort lawsuit against the city and Boise Police Department, saying Lee caused him “serious and significant injuries.”
Under Idaho law, individuals wishing to sue government agencies must first file a tort and allow the agency to respond.
Lee (center) was named Boise Police Commissioner in 2020 after serving 20 years in Portland, Oregon, where he rose from patrol officer to assistant police chief
Through his attorney, Lee (left) previously dismissed the allegations as “completely untrue.”
According to the allegation, the incident happened on October 12, 2021 during morning roll call while Rush was serving as the guard commander and conducting the daily briefing.
After Rush handed the briefing to Chief Lee and sat down, Lee began discussing neck restraints and, according to the complaint, exclaimed, “Hey Rush, get up here.”
When Rush came back to the front of the room, Lee grabbed his neck and forced him to bend down, leading him across the room and taunting him into trying to get back up, the tort states.
After Lee released the grip, Rush got back up and Lee “immediately” punched him in the forehead, forcing him to the ground, the complaint said, adding that Rush’s neck was “stretched backwards and audibly broken.”
Rush then returned to his seat for the briefing, but said subsequent medical evaluation found multiple bulging discs in his neck and a “possible C5 anterior process avulsion fracture.”
The injured sergeant required surgery in January 2022 to repair neck injuries, the tort states.
Rush is a 17-year veteran of the BPD currently assigned to the K9 unit.
Lee was named Boise Police Commissioner in 2020 after serving 20 years in Portland, Oregon, where he rose from patrolman to assistant police chief.
