Boise Sergeant Settles with City for $850K Over Training Injury Allegedly Caused by Former Chief

The city of Boise has settled a lawsuit with Boise police Sgt. Kirk Rush, who sought damages for the “alleged misconduct” of former Chief Ryan Lee during a 2021 training incident, according to a Wednesday news release from the city. During court-ordered mediation in the case, the city’s insurance provider settled the case for $850,000.

In the lawsuit, Rush, a member of the Boise Police Department’s K-9 Unit, alleged that in October 2021 Lee demonstrated a neck hold on him without consent during a training exercise, causing injures that later required surgery, the Idaho Statesman previously reported . Rush claimed he had been at odds with Lee over planned policy changes to the K-9 unit, and that the neck hold was a form of retaliation.

This incident was one of multiple controversies that led to Lee’s ouster in late 2023, the Idaho Statesman reports.

Lee filed — and then withdrew — his own lawsuit claiming that Rush was trying to derail his career by falsely accusing him of injuring his neck. Lee said Rush’s allegations had prevented him from obtaining three “high-ranking” positions at other police departments around the country, the Statesman reported.