PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — The Portland Police Bureau’s former assistant chief Ryan Lee was asked to step down from his position as police chief in Boise.
In a release on Friday, Boise officials announced Lee resigned from the city’s police department at the request of Mayor Lauren McLean. The city did not immediately release why Lee was asked to step down.
He will reportedly remain on leave until his resignation goes into effect on Friday, Oct. 14.
Lee ended his 20 year tenure with PPB in 2020 as the bureau embarked on a series of major changes. Many of those changes were sparked by the murder of George Floyd, the unarmed black man who died after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes.
“The senseless murder of a man in Minneapolis had repercussions to the police profession around the world,” said Lee. He added that he was horrified about how Floyd was killed and that more thorough police training is needed nationwide. In some cases, officers go through only two weeks of training.
He first joined the Portland bureau as a patrol officer in 2000 before being promoted to Sergeant in 2007. He was promoted again in 2015, this time to Lieutenant and two years later served as Acting Captain of PPB’s Central Precinct.
Meanwhile, the Boise mayor named retired officer Ron Winegar as acting chief who will start on Tuesday, Sept. 27. Winegar served in the Boise Police Department for nearly three decades before retiring.
KOIN 6 has reached out to the City of Boise to learn what led up to Lee’s resignation but has yet to hear back.