After a fellow officer claimed the police chief of Boise, Idaho, broke his neck by seizing him and displaying hold tactics without warning, the chief was not prosecuted.
After using Sgt. Kirk Rush at a staff meeting in October of last year to demonstrate an unusual neck hold, Boise Police Chief Ryan Lee was the subject of an inquiry into the use of excessive force.
Rush claimed in a tort lawsuit that Lee suddenly seized the back of his neck, smacked him on the forehead, and then whipped his head back, breaking his neck vertebrae and necessitating surgery.
However, in a statement released last week, Clearwater County prosecutor Clayne Tyler said that he did not advise filing any charges due to his belief that the investigation had gone as far as it could.
According to records acquired by the Idaho Statesman, Tyler admitted to authorities that he wasn’t convinced he could prove Lee committed the offence in court even though he believed there was sufficient justification to charge him with felony violence.
In a letter to the Idaho State Police, Mayor Lauren McLean, and Ada County prosecutor Jan Bennetts, Tyler stated: “This decision was not taken lightly nor without anxiety, since it really is a close call.”
Tyler added, “I will remark that this was an extremely tough choice,” adding that he would revisit the investigation if new information came to light.
According to Tyler’s letter, a medical evaluation of Rush’s injuries was inconclusive about the amount of force employed, and the sort of damage he had may often emerge with with a little force or even without any discernible traumatic incident.
Lee refused to be interviewed, and Haley Williams, a spokeswoman for the Boise Police, declined to comment.
Chuck Peterson, Lee’s legal counsel, has said that Rush’s assertions are “absolutely incorrect.”
Rush filed a tort lawsuit against the city and the Boise Police in April, claiming Lee had injured him “seriously and significantly.”
According to Idaho law, anybody who wants to sue a government organisation must first submit a tort claim and give the organisation time to reply.
The claim states that on October 12, 2021, at morning roll call, when Rush was serving as a watch commander and giving the daily briefing, the event occurred.
Chief Lee took the briefing from Rush and sat down. When Lee started talking about neck restraints, the lawsuit claims that he said, “Hey Rush, come up here.”
The lawsuit claims that when Rush stood up again to take his place at the front of the room, Lee grabbed the back of his neck and forced him to stoop, guiding him around the room while teasing him to attempt to get back up.
The lawsuit claims that once Lee released the grip, Rush got back up, at which point Lee “immediately” punched him in the forehead and pushed him down, causing Rush’s neck to “hyperextend rearward and audibly fracture.”
Rush then went back to his seat for the briefing, but claims that a later physical examination revealed many protruding neck discs as well as a “possible C5 anterior process avulsion fracture.”
According to the lawsuit, the injured sergeant needed surgery to repair his neck injuries in January 2022.
With the BPD for 17 years, Rush is currently working with the K9 unit.
After working for 20 years in Portland, Oregon, where he rose through the ranks from patrol officer to assistant chief, Lee was appointed Boise’s chief of police in 2020.