After a month of suspension with pay, the longtime Nampa police officers were reinstated Jan. 5, but to less desirable positions than they previously held, their lawyer said Thursday.
Attorney Erika Birch filed an amended lawsuit in federal court Wednesday, claiming that new Nampa police Chief LeRoy Forsman continued a pattern of retaliation begun under predecessor Bill Augsburger, who retired at the end of October.
Forsman said Thursday he could make “no comment whatsoever” on the pending litigation. Augsburger and Mayor Tom Dale, who are named as defendants in the lawsuit, earlier said they could not comment on the lawsuit, which was filed Sept. 29.
Lt. Joe Huff, Sgt. Curtis Shankel and investigator Leonard Claunts contend they raised concerns about police conduct and policy abuses as part of their duty as internal affairs investigators, but their superiors basically ignored their concerns and harassed them instead.
The city’s official response to the lawsuit, filed in October, denies any retaliation and says the officers aimed to undermine the police chief’s authority when he didn’t make the disciplinary decisions they sought.
“The city has refused to even entertain the idea that these complaints are legitimate and … some change needs to take place,” said Birch, who works for Strindberg and Scholnick, a Boise-based firm that specializes in employment law.
The Nampa lawsuit is unusual among whistleblower claims, she said, because the plaintiffs are still employed by the department they’re complaining about. Generally, she said, whistleblowers sue after they’ve been fired.
That specter was raised for the three Nampa officers on Dec. 5, according to the newly filed complaint. It says Forsman called the officers in and gave them written notice that “it is my present intention to terminate your employment.”
After meeting with the officers and hearing their side, Forsman reinstated them to duty on Jan. 5, according to the complaint. All three were moved out of Internal Affairs, and Shankel and Claunts were put on an early swing shift in patrol, according to the lawsuit. Claunts was later returned to the day shift.
Other new claims in the amended filing include the allegation that Augsburger instigated several “sham” investigations into the three officers’ allegations of shoddy time-tracking in the department and a hostile workplace for the whistleblowers.
He also asked the Canyon County Sheriff’s Office to conduct an internal affairs investigation into the three officers, particularly their “having shared confidential disciplinary matters on Nampa police employees with unauthorized parties.”
Claunts’ wife, also a plaintiff in the lawsuit, emailed the city human resources director about the officers’ concerns, and Claunts sent an email to the mayor and City Council about the same general concerns.
The amended lawsuit claims Forsman met with the three officers shortly after he took office last November and “insinuated that if the lawsuit went away, so would the IA (internal affairs probe).” According to the lawsuit, Forsman’s notice that he intended to fire the officers was based on internal affairs findings that the three had violated the department’s policies and code of ethics.
The city has not filed a response to the new allegations, and no hearings have been set for the case. The deadline for amendments from either side is March 15.
The lawsuit cites various alleged Nampa Police misconduct the officers reported to their superiors, including one officer’s use of excessive force against a suspect; another officer disconnecting the GPS system on his patrol car and spending shift time at home; an officer repeatedly showing up for work under the influence of alcohol; and top administrators golfing during work hours.
Kristin Rodine: 377-6447
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