BOISE, Idaho — The former Director of Boise's Office of Police Accountability filed a lawsuit against the City of Boise, demanding a jury trial.
In the lawsuit, Jesus Jara alleges retaliation, wrongful termination and illegal implementation of rules, policies, and procedures in violation of Idaho’s Whistleblower Act.
Jara is requesting financial relief for past and future lost wages, lost retirement, pension benefits and lost future earning capacity.
He is also suing the city for general damages for emotional distress, defamation and libel, and court costs.
The lawsuit claims that early on in his role Jara was concerned about how the Office of Police Accountability or OPA, would investigate high-ranking complaints against Boise Police leadership including former Chief of Police Ryan Lee.
Jara claims the OPA received numerous complaints about Lee in February 2022. According to the lawsuit, Jara went to the city with those complaints but his concerns we dismissed by the Mayor's Chief of Staff Courtney Washburn.
The lawsuit states the complaints and concerns against Lee ranged from a hostile work environment and retaliation to concerns regarding waste of public funds and manpower, to serious concerns of interference in ongoing Internal Affairs investigations.
Some of those investigations included concerns of excessive use of force by active officers and allegations of otherwise criminal behavior and violations of the Law Enforcement Code of Ethics.
Related: No charges filed against Boise Police Chief Ryan Lee following investigation
When Jara learned of the complaints to see if OPA should investigate or hire a third party to investigate the claims, Washburn told Jara those officers "already reached out to her office and others in the City” and that they “were always making noise,” according to the lawsuit.
Jara began to investigate the claims against Lee and when that investigation was complete he recommended Chief Lee be put on leave and that others needed to be interviewed. Court documents claim Washburn responded to the OPA's findings writing “no further action will be taken by the Office of Police Accountability, and the role of the Office will be considered complete unless further
action is requested."
In May Jara received a memo by the Mayor's Office stating “Based on the information your office provided, it has been determined that there has been no violation of city or Boise Police Department policy or procedure,” according to the lawsuit.
Related: Boise Police Chief Ryan Lee resigns at the request of mayor
In the lawsuit, Jara claims the videos he reviewed were related to Lee and the BPD's Internal Affairs investigations after OPA found violations of Boise Police policy regarding repeated excessive use of force complaints against several officers, and the OIA investigations found no issue with them.
Court documents state prior to his firing last week the City of Boise praised Jara for his work as OPA Director which included a nearly $20,000 raise in March of this year and getting a 1.5% raise as recent as August for his work.
Related: Boise City Council removes Director of Police Accountability
When reached for comment, a city spokesperson said they cannot comment on pending legal issues.
Read the full complaint below.
