BOISE, Idaho — For the first time on Tuesday, Boise Police Department's chief and deputy chief went in front of city councilmembers and talked about changes they are making after an outside investigation from a Washington D.C. law firm.
The investigation started in November after retired captain Matt Bryngelson shared racist and discriminatory views online. Michael Bromwich – who presented the findings – said they did not believe Bryngelson "infected" the rest of the department with his beliefs.
While Bromwich did not find racism to be a prevailing issue within the department, he made several other recommendations for BPD. Chief Ron Winegar and Deputy Chief Tammany Brooks addressed almost all of those concerns during Tuesday's work session.
Brooks said they already increased standards for the written test all potential hires take. Boise Police also recently reinstated the polygraph exam.
"We are seeking that higher caliber of candidate," Brooks said.
Brooks and Winegar then addressed issues about how BPD raises people through the ranks. Bromwich previously said Bryngelson had a "long list of internal affair complaints" and likely should not have been promoted through the ranks. Based on interviews, coworkers found him "rude, lazy and unavailable."
Most of the time, Winegar said the current chief has the final say about promotions. Bryngelson's most recent promotion before his retirement was done by former Chief Ryan Lee.
"Hopefully, we get it right," Winegar said. "When we don't, if I get it wrong, then I certainly answer to the mayor and to the chief of staff. And if they get it wrong, they answer to the voters of Boise."
Winegar told councilmembers there sometimes are not a lot of options for who they can promote. Once people pass all the tests and are on the eligibility list for a promotion, he said they are obligated to choose from the top three.
Although, Winegar said the chief can pass on someone if they find just cause.
Winegar also said they are making some changes to their body camera policies, including clearing up any confusion about when officers can mute themselves. Supervisors are now expected to do random audits of officers and not just review controversial situations.
Another change coming out of the investigation is the implementation of annual evaluations, which Winegar said have not been in place for several years.
"We have to have some formal evaluation process performance review for officers and for professional staff," Winegar said. "Because how else will they know what the clear expectations are for their jobs? And how will they know whether they're meeting those expectations or not?"
BPD is also now conducting its internal investigations after incidents like police shootings alongside Ada County's Critical Incident Task Force. Previously, the internal investigation happened after the CITF investigation wraps up.
Winegar said the change will hopefully speed up the entire process.
All findings from the D.C. law firm are preliminary. Since the city ran out of money, Bromwich said his team did not have time to review the 105,000 documents relating to the investigation.
Due to those reasons, Bromwich viewed some of the results with "very low confidence." Despite that, Winegar said the investigation was worthwhile and raised some important questions.
"I believed deep down, having served here for over 27 years, now 28 years, that we did not have a widespread racism problem," Winegar said. "But again, until you look and examine and really dig, I was surprised at what we had."
Winegar said they will likely go in front of Boise City Council again in a few months for a progress update. The Office of Police Accountability is also reviewing documents from the investigation.
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