Boise selects three finalists for police oversight position. Who are the candidates?
The city of Boise has selected three finalists for its police oversight director.
The finalists are Vic McCraw, Mac Muir and Leia Pitcher, according to a news release.
The former director, Jesus Jara, was fired last year, after the city alleged he had been watching unauthorized officer body camera footage.
McCraw ran for Ada County Sheriff last year as a Democrat, losing to Republican incumbent Matt Clifford. He formerly served in the Arizona Department of Public Safety, and later led Idaho’s agency that oversees law enforcement certification, the Idaho Peace Officer Standards and Training.
Muir was a member of the Civilian Complaint Review Board in New York City for seven years, according to the release. The independent agency reviews complaints against officers of the New York City Police Department. He oversaw a team of seven investigators. Earlier this year, Muir was also selected as a finalist for a similar oversight position in Boulder, Colorado. The city later decided to pursue other candidates, and has not yet selected a director, according to a news release.
Pitcher is the Interim Police Auditor in Eugene, Oregon, which also reviews citizen complaints, according to the Boise news release. Pitcher is an attorney.
The finalists will be interviewed by Mayor Lauren McLean, Council President Holli Woodings and council members Jimmy Hallyburton and Patrick Bageant, according to the release. The in-person interviews will take place later this month and in early May, the release said.
The finalists will also be interviewed by “representatives from various city departments,” other nearby public safety agencies and a community panel of “members of the faith community as well as representatives who work closely with disproportionately impacted residents,” the release said.
The city received applications from 30 candidates and interviewed the top five candidates before deciding on three finalists, the release said.
Since he was fired in December, Jara has sued the city, alleging retaliation. A jury trial is scheduled for June of 2024. Two months after Jara was fired, the two remaining investigators with the oversight department resigned.
Nicole Schafer, a city prosecutor, has been serving as interim oversight director.
An independent investigation into potential racism at the Boise Police Department, which began before Jara was fired, is on hold. Maria Weeg, a spokesperson for the mayor’s office, said the firm handling the investigation, Steptoe & Johnson, has put its investigation on hold to avoid hitting the $500,000 cap the City Council gave it.
News of the investigation being on hold was first reported by Boise Dev.
Earlier this month, Woodings told the Statesman that the firm’s lead investigator, Michael Bromwich, is expected to present on his firm’s work before the council later this month.
The investigation stems from revelations that a retired veteran police captain espoused racist views online.
