SATURDAY NOVEMBER 14 2015 $2 VOLUME 151, No. 112WWW.IDAHOSTATESMAN.COM/

FACEBOOK.COM/IDAHOSTATESMANTWITTER.COM/IDAHOSTATESMAN

NEWS ALL DAY. YOUR WAY

Behind freshman QB Brett Rypien, the Broncos have averaged 47 points and 540 yards of

offense. They’ll look to keep that going against New Mexico. Kickoff is 8:15 p.m. SPORTS, 1B

Because of Saturday’s late game, some Sunday morning papers might be delivered late.

Boise State’s men’s basketball team opened play Friday night with expectations of having

another NCAA Tournament-worthy season — and suffered a tough loss at Montana. 8B

BOISE STATE ATHLETICS Q WALL-TO-WALL COVERAGE

Blitz: Rypien ignites offenseHoops: A foul loss for BSU

The shooting death in

Adams County of Jack

Yantis has tested the

“bonds

between

law en-

force-

ment and

commu-

nity members,” U.S.

Attorney Wendy Ol-

son, above, and U.S.

Marshal Brian Under-

wood write in a guest

piece. OPINIONS, 2C

INSIDE: There are

many reasons the FBI

could investigate an

incident such as this,

including allegations

of excessive force, she

says. NEWS, 4A

THIS WEEKEND at

IdahoStatesman.com

and in print editions:

Saturday’s protest in

Council; Sunday’s me-

morial for Jack Yantis.

RANCHER’S SHOOTING

U.S. ATTORNEYON FBI INQUIRY,RELATIONSHIPWITH PUBLIC

Some Boiseans feared Mayor Dave Bieter was gutting police oversight when he made the position of Office of

Police Oversight director — what used to be called the community ombudsman — a part-time job. They said in-

dependent review of incidents such as a February officer-involved shooting, above, would suffer. Natalie Ca-

macho Mendoza, Bieter’s pick to head the office, has been easing her way into the new role since August. Re-

porter Sven Berg examines her approach to the job and her reasons for not even going to the scene of an Oct. 26

officer-involved shooting. DEPTH, 1C

DEPTH: LAW ENFORCEMENT

Checking in on Boisepolice oversight

KYLE GREEN kgreen@idahostatesman.com

Ed Lotterman writes about the ins

and outs of much-criticized U.S.

trade policy. DEPTH, 1C

LOTTERMAN IN BOISE: He will

speak Friday at the Boise chamber of commerce’s an-

nual economic summit, and on Thursday at 10 a.m. he

will have a meet-and-greet at the Statesman. Contact

dstaats@idahostatesman.com for information.

ECONOMICS

POLITICIANS’ TROUBLETARGETING TRADE

Local expert Margaret Lau-

terbach says this shrub that

produces edible fruit is one

not many people know

about, but one that’s worth

the wait. EXPLORE, 5C

GARDENING

DON’T MISS OUT ON THE DELICIOUSHASKAPS BERRY

BOISE FAMILY

Imprisoned pastor’s wife saysSaeed Abedini has been abusive

NEWS, 4A

WILDLIFE

Saying grizzlies are sacred, tribesseek bears’ continued protection

NEWS, 6A

SUPREME COURT

For the first time in years, justicesagree to decide a major abortion case

NEWS, 7A

Catching Up 2ALocal news 4ANation 5-10AWeather 11ASports 1B

Depth 1COpinions 2CExplore 5CComics 6-7CObituaries 8C

NEWS

Terror in France:Over 100 deadin Paris, state ofemergency 6A

SPORTS

Mtn. View,Rocky tosquare off in 5A final 1B

DEPTH

A peek atthe schoolfor NSAagents 1C

Partly cloudy

60°/40° See 11A

336-6000*On select models. All prices, discounts and lease payments after rebates including Loyalty, trade, competitive lease, USAA or GM Card rebates when applicable. **See dealer for details.

0002076114-0

7

2015 CLOSE OUTASK ABOUT

0%*FOR 60 MOS

+ BONUSCASH

OVER 100SIERRAS

AVAILABLE

$31,145

SIERRA 1500 DBL CAB 4X4STARTINGAS LOWAS

2015 GMC SIERRA 1500 / 2500 / 3500

SAVINGS UPTO

$14,500**

OFF MSRP

ON ORCHARD

The quick thinking of

Zack Nicholson, 15, to

nudge Andy Nichol-

son, 13, out of the way

in a Boise intersection

likely minimized both

their injuries, their

mom said Friday. Ice

on a windshield led to

what almost was a

tragedy. NEWS, 5A

CROSSWALK ACCIDENT

BROTHERS OKDESPITE BEINGHIT BY SUV

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 14 2015 1CFACEBOOK.COM/IDAHOSTATESMAN

TWITTER.COM/IDAHOSTATESMANIDAHOSTATESMAN.COM

Depth RANCHER’S SHOOTING

SHOWS HOW RELATIONS

WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT

ARE BEING TESTED IN

AMERICA. 2C

GUEST OPINION

first experience with an officer-involved shooting since shetook over as the city’s Directorof Police Oversight in August.In her three-plus months on thejob, she said, she hasn’t been toa scene where officers are in-vestigating an incident. She saidthe three part-time, on-callinvestigators who work for herhave.

“I think we need to be very

Natalie Camacho Men-doza said she didn’tgo to the scene wherea Boise police officer

shot a man on Oct. 26 becauseshe didn’t want to interferewith officers who were investi-gating.

It was Camacho Mendoza’s

conscientious of the role ofhaving law enforcement dowhat law enforcement does andmake sure we’re not crossinglines into their crime scenes,etc.,” Camacho Mendoza said.“I want to make sure that thoselines are drawn, that we’reobserving what they do, but wealso don’t want to get in theway of them doing their job.”

That’s not good enough, local

attorney Bruce Jones said. OnDec. 18, 2004, Jones watched aBoise police officer shoot hisson four times in front of thefamily’s house. The boy, whowas holding a rifle with a bayo-net attached, died.

Boise Community Ombuds-man Pierce Murphy, CamachoMendoza’s predecessor,exonerated the officer in theshooting. Even though hedisagreed with some of theombudsman’s conclusions,Jones became a steadfast sup-porter of Murphy’s.

Jones said he was surprisedCamacho Mendoza didn’t visitthe location of the Oct. 26 in-cident. Being there doesn’t

mean she’s contaminating evi-dence or interfering with offi-cers, he said.

“It is invaluable to be on thescene. It’s the primary source.There’s no substitute for actual-ly seeing something rather thantrying to re-create it laterthrough photos or diagrams,”

KYLE GREEN kgreen@idahostatesman.com

Police cordon off the scene of a Feb. 16 shooting in which a Boise officer killed a man on Malad Street on the Bench. The officer was cleared of wrongdoing in the incident.

POLICE OVERSIGHT

Shooting puts Boise’swatchdog in spotlight. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Natalie Camacho Mendoza didn’t want to interfere with officers investigating fatal shooting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Being on the scene is her job, local attorney argues. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Despite part-time status, Camacho Mendoza said she’ll make community outreach a priority. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

BY SVEN BERG

sberg@idahostatesman.com

SEE POLICE, 3C

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Boise’s Director of PoliceOversight

Natalie CamachoMendoza

Professionalexperience:Former partner inBoise law firm Anderson Julianand Hull; founder of Boise lawfirm Camacho Mendoza Law;former Shoshone-Paiute Tribesprosecutor

City salary: $50,000. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

knowing what it would be;they couldn’t tell himuntil he got inside and gotsecurity clearance.

The National Crypt-ologic School is a schoolunlike any other. It’s ex-tremely carefully guarded,for starters, with a seriesof checkpoints to get toclass.

Some of the students’identities are secret.

There’s no homework.(It’s classified.)

No cellphones or com-puters can be broughtinside, so the break areashave a surreal, throwbackfeel. There are landlines,some secure, for checkingin on work. Some are not,for checking in on family.

And it has a most un-usual mission: Teachingpeople whose jobs protect-ing the nation requirethem to stay ahead ofrapidly evolving threatsand technology.

The NSA has beensharply criticized in recentyears for its efforts

lege for the National Se-curity Agency and theintelligence community.

Reinsfelder, a highschool Spanish teacherwith multiple graduatedegrees, took the job not

Leonard Reinsfelder’swife found a note on hercar as she was leaving ashopping center one day:“Have your husband giveus a call. We think wecould use him.”

There was a phonenumber, and nothing else.

So began Reinsfelder’scareer at the NationalCryptologic School, whichfunctions as a sort of col-

NSA SCHOOL

How intelligencecommunity getssmarter, secretly. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The National Cryptologic School: Where future NSAagents learn their trade. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Most everything is off the record, on the QT and veryhush hush, even the hiring. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

BY SUSAN SVRLUGA

The Washington Post

SEE NSA SCHOOL, 4C

1,300 Courses taught not only atNSA satellite campuses butonline worldwide throughsecure connections

elected. At the risk of being a

wet blanket, let me sug-gest that neither of thetwo — nor any other can-didate in the race — wouldor could actually changemuch on trade if elected.U.S. trade policy is com-plicated, and enactingdrastic changes wouldopen up whole bins ofworms. Sanders andTrump obviously do notknow what is involved,and neither does the greatmajority of the population.So a little review of historyand issues is useful.

For nearly the first cen-tury and a half of ournation’s existence, we didexercise autonomy insetting tariffs and othertrade relationships. Bythis, I mean that we didnot consult with other

That we need leaderswho can unite the Amer-ican people has become acliche. So perhaps oneshould be glad that BernieSanders, a sharp-leftDemocratic candidate forpresident, and DonaldTrump on the Republicanside, agree on at least onething: U.S. trade policy isbad.

Both argue that currenttrade arrangements harmthe U.S. economy andpledge drastic changes if

nations on what our tarifflevels might be. And, inlaw at least, there was noreason why we could notset one level of importduty on a product fromGermany and a differentone on the same productmade in China.

However, the Reciproc-al Trade Agreements Actof 1934 began to changeall that, and the processwas advanced after WorldWar II by trade sections ofthe Bretton Woods confer-ence and institutions thatre-established internation-al economic relations.

These included aplanned InternationalTrade Organization stran-gled at birth by a U.S.Congress that refused toratify U.S. participation. Amuch more modest Gen-eral Agreement on Tariffsand Trade took on someof what had been plannedfor the ITO in terms ofcoordination of interna-tional trade. This agree-ment, which had little

REAL WORLD ECONOMICS

Trade is an elusivetarget for politicians

BY ED LOTTERMAN

Special to the Idaho Statesman

SEE LOTTERMAN, 4C

Maintaining poinsettias; plus: thetastiest berry you’ve never year of? 5C

PLUS u COMICS, HOROSCOPES & MORE

ExploreIN THIS

SECTION

WK4615 3CDepthIDAHOSTATESMAN.COM

Jones said. “It’s evidentthat there needs to beindependent review of theactions, and it should startat the scene so that therecan be no manipulationfrom the moment of theincident to whenever theombudsman gets in-volved.”

Murphy said he went tothe scene of every officer-involved shooting whenhe was ombudsman,though Boise law doesn’trequire police oversightofficials to go to the sceneof critical incidents, whichinclude events in whichofficers kill or seriouslyharm someone.

Camacho Mendoza saidher stance on visiting thescene of a shooting orother incident isn’t set instone.

“If evidence comes tome where I questionwhether that is effectiveand we need to be there,then that might change,”she said. “But at this pointin time, like I said, I reallywant to make sure that Idefine those parametersof what we do versus whatlaw enforcement does.”

THE SUCCESSOR

Camacho Mendoza hasbig shoes to fill.

Murphy was Boise’sfirst ombudsman. In his14 years here, he waswidely respected for hisfairness and empathywhen investigating civil-ian complaints of policeconduct. He is creditedwith helping restore pub-lic faith in the Boise Po-lice Department and citygovernment in generalafter a rash of policeshootings.

After Murphy left in2013 for a similar job in

Seattle, Boise Mayor DaveBieter’s office launched anationwide search for areplacement. That searchfailed to net a candidatethat Bieter was satisfiedwith, so he started over.

Early this year, the cityoffered a North Carolinawoman the job, but laterrescinded the offer. Bietersaid some problemssurfaced late in the hiringprocess that changed hismind.

Bieter, with the backingof the City Council, thenchanged the ombudsmanjob from a full-time to apart-time position. Healso renamed it the Officeof Police Oversight.

“Ombudsman was aclunky title from the start,let alone the gender neu-trality of it is hard,” Bietersaid at the council’s July27 meeting, whenCamacho Mendoza wasconfirmed. “Ombuds-person? Do you say that?... Director of the office ofpolice oversight, I think, isquite a bit easier.”

LEGAL EXPERIENCE

A native of Pocatello,Camacho Mendozaearned her bachelor’sdegree in political sciencefrom Idaho State Uni-versity. She graduated in1989 from the WashburnSchool of Law in Topeka,Kan., and moved to Boisein 1995.

She rose to partner atBoise law firm AndersonJulian and Hull beforestarting her own firm,Camacho Mendoza Law.She has also worked asprosecutor for the Shosh-one-Paiute Tribes on theDuck Valley Indian Reser-vation.

She said her legal expe-

rience has prepared herfor the investigative as-pect of being Boise’s di-rector of police oversight.

“I am an attorney, andevery case that comesacross your desk, youneed to do investigating,partially just to determinewhether you’re going totake the case,” she said.“But then, once you do,obviously you prepare acase by collecting all thefacts.”

She’s familiar with theway judges assembleobjective facts and usethem to form an opinion;now she’s on the otherside of that process. Shesaid she plans to attendseminars and other train-ing events to sharpen herskills.

‘A SERVICE FOR

EVERYONE’

Camacho Mendoza’sresume boasts a long listof service for civil rightsgroups.

In the 1990s, Gov. CecilAndrus appointed her tothe Idaho Commission onHispanic Affairs, a groupwhose goal was to addressissues such as Latinos’access to education andemployment, as well asrelationships betweenLatinos and governmentagencies. She said sheserved as vice-chair of thePocatello Human Rela-tions Advisory Commit-tee, a post that requiredher to look into claims ofdiscrimination.

Camacho Mendoza saidshe’ll lean on that back-ground in her new role.

“I just am conscientiousabout the fact that theremay be certain segmentsof our community thatmight be a little bit morehesitant to reach out ontheir own,” she said. “Asan immigrant, dependingon what your experiencehas been with govern-ment in the place whereyou come from, there maybe hesitancy. And I justwant to make sure thatthe message gets to allsegments of Boise thatthere isn’t a need for that,that this is a service foreveryone.”

COMMUNITY

CONNECTIONS

But how much outreachcan Camacho Mendozarealistically accomplish asa 20-hour-per-week em-ployee who’s running herown law firm at the sametime?

Murphy made it a bigpart of the job. DennisDunne, who works as anon-call investigator forCamacho Mendoza, saidin February that he didn’thave time to fill that rolewhen he stepped in asinterim ombudsman inMurphy’s absence.

Camacho Mendoza saidconnecting with the com-munity is a priority forher. She said she recentlyparticipated in a network-ing conference sponsoredby Boise State Universityand was invited to a Jan-uary event sponsored bythe American Associationof University Women.

“I will accept thoseinvitations to speak togroups, but what I reallywant to put a lot of energyin is to reaching out,” shesaid. “What I want to dois divide up the city andstart making contacts.”

Camacho Mendoza saidshe’s building a plan tomake formal presenta-tions to businesses, neigh-borhood associations,churches, schools andother organizations allover the city.

“I’ve always felt thatthe most effective way isto go to communities, towhere they are,” she said.

The more people knowabout the Office of PoliceOversight, Boise PoliceChief Bill Bones said, themore transparent andtrusted the departmentwill be.

Bones said he’s metseveral times with Ca-macho Mendoza, and hisinternal affairs teammeets with her regularly.But don’t expect to seeBones joining CamachoMendoza on the commu-nity outreach trail.

“I don’t want to dilutethe independence of theoffice,” he said. “I’m

hopeful that there will beforums where we both getto participate, but I cer-tainly would not want toco-opt or make peoplehave any misconcep-tions.”

Dunne thinks whatevertime Camacho Mendozacan dedicate to outreachwill yield good results.

“Her background issuch that she has theability to do that and willbe good at it, from whatI’ve seen,” he said.

PART-TIME SOLUTION?

Some people worriedBieter was gutting policeoversight in Boise whenhe announced the head ofthe office would not be afull-time employee.

Bieter said the movewas simply a response to areduced workload. Thenumber of complaintsagainst police officers hasplummeted since Murphybecame ombudsman in1999.

Maryanne Jordan, theCity Council president,agreed with Bieter’s ap-proach. It pays a reducedsalary and doesn’t have topay benefits such as insur-ance and retirement con-

tributions.“Let’s face it: In any

other position in the city,if the workload had drop-ped off that significantly,it would definitely bereorganized. That’s forsure,” Jordan said at thecouncil’s July 27 meeting.

Jones isn’t so sure. LikeDunne, he is worriedpeople haven’t com-plained as much aboutpolice officers since Mur-phy left because peopledon’t know the officeexists or what it does.

“I understand that thenumber of complaints hasdropped, but is that be-cause there has beensome pretty good over-sight by Pierce Murphy allthese years, or is it be-cause of other factors?”he said. “It may be a com-bination.”

Carolyn Terteling, whowas a member of the CityCouncil that created theombudsman position, saidthe part-time status couldwork as long as CamachoMendoza follows throughon her commitment tospread the word that theOffice of Police Oversightis there for everyone.

“As long as that personrealizes the need to getout and be available andmake people know she’savailable, then that maymake up the difference,”Terteling said.

Statesmanreporter SvenBerg coverslocalgovernmentandaccountability.208-377-6275,@IDS_SvenBerg

KATY MOELLER kmoeller@IdahoStatesman.com

A Boise police officer talks to a driver leaving the Bench neighborhood where anofficer shot Patrick Zavala on Oct. 26.

KATY MOELLER kmoeller@IdahoStatesman.com

As a result of the shooting here, Zavala, 37, was hospitalized for five days and latercharged with illegal possession of a gun and resisting or obstructing officers.

KATY MOELLER kmoeller@IdahoStatesman.com

Following standard procedure, the Ada County CriticalIncident Task Force showed up at the scene of an Oct.26 shooting between a Boise police officer and a civilian.

‘‘“YOU KNOW, PEOPLE COME INTO ANEW JOB ONE OF TWO WAYS. THEYEITHER COME IN AND REALLY DOOUTREACH AND LEARN AND TRY TOASSESS, OR THEY COME IN LIKE ABULLDOZER. AND, FORTUNATELY FORUS, SHE’S COME IN THE FIRST WAY.”

Boise Council President Maryanne Jordan on NatalieCamacho Mendoza

FROM PAGE 1C

POLICE

IN THE EVENT OF A CRITICALINCIDENT, “THE OFFICE OF POLICEOVERSIGHT SHALL BE NOTIFIEDIMMEDIATELY AND SHALL ACT AS ANOBSERVER TO ANY CRIMINAL,ADMINISTRATIVE OR CIVILINVESTIGATION. ... (IT) MAY ALSOCONDUCT AN INDEPENDENTADMINISTRATIVE INVESTIGATION,”ACCORDING TO CITY CODE.

Aug. 31, 1997: Boise po-

lice officer Chris Rogers

kills drunk-driving suspect

James Justin Atkinson. It is

the fifth time since June

24, 1996, that Boise offi-

cers have shot and killed a

person. Independent po-

lice oversight becomes a

big issue in city elections.

Nov. 18, 1997: The Boise

City Council, whose in-

cumbents survived the

Nov. 4 election, unani-

mously approves a plan to

put an ombudsman in

charge of investigating

complaints against police

and recommend law-en-

forcement policy changes.

August 1998: A Boise

attorney, former New

Mexico ombudsman, San

Francisco-based mediator

and former Wisconsin

court officer are named as

the four finalists for the

ombudsman’s job.

Sept. 1, 1998: The Boise

City Council unanimously

confirms Mayor Brent

Coles’ nomination of Kristi

McKown, a former liaison

officer between police and

prosecutors in Fitchburg,

Wis., as Boise’s first om-

budsman.

Sept. 6, 1998: The Idaho

Statesman publishes a

Sunday story titled “Police

ombudsman says she’s

ready.” A few days later,

the Statesman reports

that, over the same week-

end, McKown had re-

signed without working a

day and Coles had nomi-

nated Idaho Fair Housing

Council Executive Director

Richard Mabbutt to take

her place.

Sept. 14, 1998: Mabbutt

withdraws from consid-

eration to be Boise’s om-

budsman. The city restarts

its search.

Feb. 12, 1999: A selection

panel announces three

ombudsman finalists:

Pierce Murphy, a human

resources executive for

Boise Cascade; Mark Sto-

tik, a farm workers’ lawyer

from Weiser; and Stan

Burton, a mediator and

former Idaho Real Estate

Commission executive

director.

March 2, 1999: After

Coles’ nomination, the

City Council confirms

Murphy, who in his 20s

studied to become a Cath-

olic priest and had served

as a reserve police officer

in California, as Boise’s

ombudsman.

Dec. 8, 2004: Boise offi-

cer Andrew Johnson

shoots and kills 16-year-

old Matthew Jones in front

of the Jones family’s

house. Police say Jones

rushed Johnson with a rifle

that, while unloaded, had a

bayonet attached.

July 12, 2006: Murphy

finds that Johnson was

justified in using deadly

force against Jones.

July 9, 2013: Murphy

resigns as Boise ombuds-

man to take a similar job

investigating complaints

against officers for the

Seattle Police Department,

undergoing a U.S. Depart-

ment of Justice mandate

to overhaul supervision,

training and use-of-force

reporting.

January 2014: The city of

Boise receives 38 applica-

tions from people looking

to become the next om-

budsman. Proposed new

guidelines for the job

include additional duties,

such as helping the human

resources department

settle workplace com-

plaints.

May 2014: The city res-

tarts its ombudsman

search after none of the 38

applicants is considered

right for the job.

Jan. 8, 2015: Melissa Bak-

er, who serves on a police

discipline board for the

city of Charlotte, N.C., tells

the Statesman she has

been offered the job of

Boise ombudsman.

Feb. 12, 2015: Mayor Da-

vid Bieter tells the States-

man he rescinded the job

offer to Baker because

problems emerged late in

the hiring process. Bieter

says he’s considering mak-

ing the position part-time.

July 28, 2015: After Bie-

ter’s nomination, the City

Council confirms Natalie

Camacho Mendoza as

Director of the Office of

Police Oversight. Accord-

ing to the city, the name of

the Office of the Commu-

nity Ombudsman was

changed to clear up con-

fusion about its role.

BOISE POLICE OVERSIGHT TIMELINE