BOISE, Idaho — Boise Mayor Lauren McLean told city and union leaders that she “will not tolerate anyone who tries to impede” an investigation into a retired Boise police captain with ties to an organization known for white supremacist views.
News broke over the weekend of retired Boise Police Capt. Matthew Bryngelson’s planned appearance as a speaker at the American Renaissance Conference. The conference is held by an organization that has published posts arguing that people of color are inherently less intelligent than white people and contribute more to crime and other societal ills.
McLean addressed union leaders and city officials publicly during a Monday morning bargaining meeting between the city and the Boise Police Department’s union. Just a day earlier, McLean issued a news release and called Bryngelson’s participation in the conference and contributions to American Renaissance “racist, dehumanizing propaganda.”
“I expect — and the community deserves — your full cooperation, your honesty and integrity to the oaths you’ve sworn in this investigation,” McLean said Monday. She added that she expects cooperation from union leaders, department leadership, the rank-and-file and staff.
“For those in the Boise Police Department, if you cannot or will not cooperate fully and honestly, I suggest that now is the time to leave,” McLean added. “And honestly it’s the time to leave the profession because the people of Boise rely on you to protect and to serve them.”
The investigation is expected to determine whether Bryngelson or others in the Police Department used city resources to “advance racist ideology,” McLean said. The city also wants to determine whether any residents’ rights were violated or if anyone within the department was impacted.
In addition to his planned appearance at the conference, Bryngelson appeared in an earlier video under a pseudonym, Daniel Vinyard, in which he characterized Black people as criminals whose crimes “the sound human mind can’t even comprehend ... let alone carry them out.” He also appeared to have written blog posts, under the same pseudonym, about the time in his police career when he “became aware of the violent tendencies of Blacks.”
Bryngelson did not return phone or text messages from the Idaho Statesman on Sunday or Monday.
The Boise Police Department in a Monday afternoon statement said it would welcome and “fully cooperate” with the investigation to “begin rebuilding a trusting relationship with each other and the public.” Police also called Bryngelson’s association with American Renaissance “unconscionable” for any member of the department.
“We know that it will take the efforts of every one of us to gain the trust lost through these actions by a former member of our department,” the statement said.
McLean in Sunday’s statement announced that the city would be launching a full investigation with an “independent investigator with deep experience in this type of work.” McLean told reporters following her statement that city officials haven’t picked an investigator yet but are “taking the steps to find the best independent investigator.”
McLean did not directly answer a question about whether officials plan to announce the name of the investigator once one is selected but said the city will let the community know the “next steps.”
“We will know after this investigation the extent to which this is or is not pervasive within the department, and we will act accordingly,” McLean said.
She declined to comment whether Bryngelson was receiving a pension and whether it could be affected by the investigation.
Boise Police Cpl. Denny Carter, who is also a member of the union, addressed the meeting after McLean’s statement and said union leaders support McLean’s plans for the investigation.
Bryngelson was not a member of the police union since he was a manager, Carter said.
“We will wholeheartedly cooperate, and I think that you will find that the citizens of Boise, the trust that they have is earned minus this blemish from a former officer,” Carter said. “We support the mayor in her beliefs and going forward, and we want to denounce his actions — 100%.”
The union, which encompasses roughly 240 officers and sergeants, also issued a news release Sunday evening stating that it was “astonished and “infuriated” with Bryngelson’s actions.
“We don’t yet have all of the right words, but we want to promptly and unequivocally condemn his racist words and actions in the strongest possible terms,” Boise Police Cpl. Brian Holland, a spokesperson for the union, wrote.
The Boise Police Department in its statement condemning Bryngelson also agreed with McLean that for those who share the same “types of thoughts, feelings, values, or ideologies” as Bryngelson, policing is not for them.
“As a department, we commit to taking swift action with anyone who may harbor similar sentiments,” police said.
News of Bryngelson’s ties to the American Renaissance came nearly two months after McLean’s decision to ask Police Chief Ryan Lee to resign in light of multiple complaints from at least nine officers. Bryngelson was one of multiple officers who came forward with allegations against Lee, who is Chinese American.
Bryngelson’s complaints against Lee were documented in a Feb. 4 email sent by a Boise police supervisor to the city’s human resources department. The email alleged that Lee was “abusive and unprofessional” toward Bryngelson, and that Lee called him “stupid” or “dumb.”
The emails on the allegations were provided to the Statesman by a source after reporters could not obtain them through the city’s public records process.
Bryngelson was also a key source in a KTVB story that publicized the initial complaints against Lee.
When asked if the “revelations” about Bryngelson “casted doubt” on the accusations against Lee, McLean told reporters Monday that she’s looking into what is happening within the department.
“We’re gonna learn all that we can, determine the next steps of action that we have to take,” McLean said.
McLean, who told reporters that she learned about Bryngelson’s association with the group Saturday evening, has taken quick action against the former captain. After Lee was asked to resign, McLean did not hold interviews with the press until nearly two weeks after his resignation.
“Our community deserves a Police Department worthy of their investment and trust,” McLean said. “BPD staff who work day in and out to live up to their commitment to protect and serve, and find themselves as morally outraged as I am at the racist, dehumanizing propaganda spouted by at least one of their co-workers, deserve to know that we have their backs.”
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