NAMPA, Idaho — This article originally appeared in the Idaho Press.
Idaho Department of Correction Officer Cliff Ohler has filed a case against the Nampa Police Department, alleging civil rights violations with pressures to engage in unlawful conduct.
The case was filed on July 8 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho, detailing allegations beginning in 2022. Ohler is suing for $100,000 on multiple counts including the unlawful seizure of property, discharge from employment and defamation.
The affidavit names NPD Chief Joe Huff, Deputy Chief Curtis Shankel, Sgt. Shane Huston and Detective Curtis Carper as defendants, as well as Canyon County Prosecuting Attorney Bryan Taylor and Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Eleonora Somoza.
Ohler works for IDOC as a parole and probation officer and is a task force officer for the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Violent Crimes Task Force. In his roles, Ohler collaborates with the NPD and prosecutor’s office on investigations.
THE AFFIDAVIT
On Sept. 3, 2022, Ohler received information from a confidential informant who contacted him regarding an unsolved homicide that occurred at Buffalo Wild Wings in Nampa. This information was relayed to the NPD, according to the case affidavit filed by Ohler and his legal representation.
Ohler was later told by the informant that a Nampa police officer had contacted the informant asking for information. The informant said that the officer threatened them, stating that a lack of cooperation would result in a violation of the informant's probation.
The informant continued to contact Ohler with information regarding the homicide as well as the death of 20-year-old Isaac Bernal who was shot and killed in November 2022. Ohler said he shared this information with a sergeant with the Nampa Police Department.
Months later, Ohler met with Carper, another Nampa police detective and the informant to discuss the two ongoing cases. The informant shared information that Ohler previously relayed to the NPD, but Carper and the other detective claimed they never received it.
Ohler showed his communications with the sergeant which apparently had not been forwarded to the detectives, the affidavit stated.
On Dec. 3, 2022, the affidavit states that Carper called Ohler to discuss the possible involvement of one of Ohler’s parolees, Manuel Santana, in Bernal’s death. Ohler was scheduled to have a parole appointment with Santana the next day.
Carper allegedly asked Ohler to question Santana on his alibi and other questions that would qualify as a pre-interrogation interview of a homicide suspect, the affidavit stated.
Ohler felt that this line of questioning would be inappropriate at a parolee appointment without a Miranda rights warning. He also told Carper that he did not know enough about the ongoing investigation to carry out an interview, the affidavit stated.
In response, Carper allegedly told Ohler to not read Santana his Miranda rights, according to the affidavit.
When the appointment came the next day, Santana did not show up.
On Feb. 6, 2023, a meeting was held with NPD and IDOC staff in attendance, the affidavit stated. Here, Deputy Prosecutor Eleonora Somoza allegedly told Ohler to bring Santana in for questions prepared by the homicide detectives. She also asked him to search Santana’s residence for evidence, according to the document.
Instead, Ohler requested that the NPD detectives issue a search warrant and question Santana themselves. He felt Somoza’s requests were a violation of Santana’s rights and voiced his belief that a Miranda rights warning was necessary, the affidavit stated.
The document says that Somoza implied that Ohler could use his authority as a parole officer to skip the warning and to act like the questions were part of his routine check-in.
On Aug. 18, 2023, a search warrant was issued by the NPD for Ohler’s phone due to beliefs that he was withholding information, the affidavit stated.
Ohler contested the search and a district judge ruled in his favor, stating that the warrant was unconstitutionally broad. At this point, the phone had already been searched, according to the affidavit.
The affidavit states that the NPD admitted that Ohler had not withheld information, but the NPD allegedly told the U.S. Attorney’s Office that he did.
As these allegations continued, Ohler’s role with the NPD was altered and he was not allowed to carry out certain duties without the presence of another officer, the affidavit says.
The affidavit argues that, due to the NPD’s allegations, Ohler has not been able to carry out his employment responsibilities.
“(Ohler’s) working conditions have become so intolerable that a reasonable person would feel compelled to resign,” the affidavit reads.
Taylor offered a written statement to the Idaho Press on behalf of the Canyon County Prosecuting Attorney's Office, stating that the named Canyon County defendants in the case, himself and Somoza, have reviewed the lawsuit filed by Ohler and have filed their answer to it with the court.
"The county denies any wrongdoing and specifically denies that anyone at the Canyon County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office directed anyone to commit a violation of constitutional rights,” Taylor wrote.
NPD spokesperson Carmen Boeger said the department is unable to provide comment on the case due to ongoing litigation.
Ohler’s legal representation at the Filicetti Law Office provided a written statement commenting on the current case and said Ohler "looks forward to having his day in court."
A hearing date has yet to be set.
PREVIOUS COMPLAINTS IN FONTANA
Ohler worked for 12 years at the Fontana Police Department in California, serving as a corporal in the gang and narcotics unit prior to moving to Idaho, according to a Boise Police Department staff report.
He was previously involved in a case against the FPD in 2010 that went up to the United States District Court for the Central District of California. Ohler along with then-Corporal Kurt Schlotterbeck sued the police department and a number of police staff, according to court records.
They sought consequences for alleged “wrongful retaliation” against them. Ultimately, the judge ruled against them, determining that there were no constitutional violations in the case. As a federal court, the ruling noted that the case was dependent on state law, according to records.
At the time, Ohler and Schlotterbeck were president and vice president of the Fontana Police Officers' Association, a labor union for officers. These roles had them engaged in union activities where they aimed to end “disparate treatment between management and the rank and file,” the affidavit said.
In their leadership roles, they brought concerns to command staff including allegations against a lieutenant regarding inappropriate sexual conduct within the department, the affidavit said. There were also concerns in the narcotics unit regarding excessive use of force.
The police chief allegedly “was made the scapegoat for the illegal actions” and retired. Following this development, command staff became upset due to the disrupted “line of succession,” as the new police chief was not their pick, according to the affidavit.
Ohler and Schlotterbeck said they experienced harassment and threats for continuing to engage in union activities. They alleged that they were passed over for promotions as well.
The judge dismissed the case in 2011, ruling in favor of the police department and other defendants.
Ohler relocated to Idaho in 2015.
Boeger, the spokesperson with Nampa police, said the NPD receives several tort claims on an annual basis, but few go onto becoming lawsuits.
This article originally appeared in the Idaho Press, read more on IdahoPress.com.
