Boise police hired Meridian officer amid ‘use of force’ investigation. Then this happened

The former Meridian police officer who made the news for using knee-on-neck force in an arrest last June is no longer in training with Boise police. In fact, he’s no longer with his new department at all.

Haley Williams, a Boise police spokesperson, told the Idaho Statesman in an email Tuesday that Officer Bradley Chambers — who transferred to the department in September amid an internal review of his conduct in the June arrest in Meridian — was separated from Boise police on Jan. 17. Asked why, Williams said she couldn’t say.

The Statesman previously reported that Chambers had been hired by Boise police in September, a day after voluntarily leaving the Meridian Police Department. As of October, Williams told the Statesman that Chambers was in training with Boise police. Williams confirmed Tuesday that Chambers was in field training, or in the field with a training officer, as of his separation in January.

Chambers’ transfer to Boise in September came as the Meridian department’s Office of Professional Standards initiated an investigation into his arrest of a young Meridian man who allegedly failed to comply with Chambers’ orders while investigating a dirt-bike accident.

The arrest, which has since been viewed by millions in videos online, culminated in Chambers forcing the young man to the ground and pressing his knee to the man’s neck for nearly a minute. The man now faces criminal misdemeanor charges of resisting arrest and obstructing justice.

Jordan Robinson, a spokesperson for the Meridian Police Department, told the Statesman in an email Tuesday that the use of force investigation has “been completed” but that she could not provide any additional information while the criminal case is ongoing.

Asked what prompted Chambers’ separation from the Boise Police Department and whether the department received any findings from the internal review, Williams told the Statesman in an email Tuesday that she is unable to “release personnel information” or provide information beyond the date of separation.

Before working at the Meridian or Boise departments, Chambers graduated from the Meridian-Nampa Joint Patrol Academy in 2022, the Statesman previously reported. Previous Statesman reporting also shows Chambers was a sergeant in the American Canyon Police Department in California as of 2018.

Boise police declined the Statesman’s request in October to reach Chambers for comment.

The Statesman emailed the Boise Police Union and its president, Officer Damen Jones, for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

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