LEWISTON, ID – A Nez Perce County Sheriff’s K9 Deputy who was fired from the agency in January has filed a tort claim notice against approximately 25 people – including county officials, law enforcement officers (Nez Perce County and Nez Perce Tribal Police), and two Nez Perce Tribal members. A notice must be filed by those wishing to file a claim of damages against any state agency.
According to the notice, George “JR” Gregory was fired via a Notice of Termination on January 12th for which he claims was “without justification or due cause.” He had previously been placed on administrative leave beginning on November 30, 2022.
An 18-year law enforcement officer, Gregory was hired by the Sheriff’s Office in 2017. He was the handler of K9 Ikar since 2019 and was previously a K9 deputy in Lincoln County for five years.
In the tort claim notice, Gregory says the sheriff’s office “has damaged [his] ability to perform his duties as a law enforcement officer at any venue” not only by terminating him, but by “delivering a Brady notice to the Defense Bar and all Judges of the Second Judicial District on December 6, 2022 without communication and/or justification to the Claimant, the employer notified prosecutors and others who utilized Claimant’s expertise and experience to serve as a witness in criminal and civil cases that the Claimant would no longer be considered as a witness. The employer did on December 6, 2022 improperly and with malice destroyed the Claimant’s credibility as a law enforcement officer. Claimant’s first hearing on this matter was on January 5, 2023, well after the Brady notice had been given.”
KOZE News has filed a Public Records Request for the December 6, 2022 Brady notice. Officials say it is undergoing review.
In the Brady notice sent to the Nez Perce County Defense Bar by Prosecutor Justin Coleman on December 29th, his office was notified by sheriff’s office administration on November 29, 2022 that “potential Brady issues had arisen regarding an incident that occurred on November 19, 2022, involving NPCSO Corporal JR Gregory. The State was made aware of the nature of the allegations and updated at various times throughout the process of review and investigation.”
That incident alleged that Gregory had “engaged in deceptive practices, has included false information in his report and has misrepresented information in his report regarding what happened during the incident as well as the purpose for arresting this individual. Further, the State concluded that the arrest was not appropriate. The State has since dismissed all charges brought against this individual,” Coleman says in the Brady letter.
“A law enforcement officer’s credibility and truthfulness is of the utmost importance. Because of the seriousness of the allegations now confirmed by review of this incident, the State has a duty to notify (per Brady and Giglio) all defense counsel of the potential issues in immediate pending cases involving Cpl Gregory. Deceitfulness or dishonesty on the part of an officer is always considered exculpatory evidence,” Coleman continues.
“The State is obligated to disclose exculpatory evidence to the defense in every case and the Nez Perce County Prosecutor’s Office treats the duty to disclose exculpatory evidence as one of their most important responsibilities,” Coleman added. “The State intends to further review all active cases that involve Cpl Gregory, including resolved cases within appeal timeframes or post-conviction deadlines.”
“The State has no intention of calling Cpl Gregory as a witness in any future cases,” Coleman said.
Meanwhile, in his tort claim notice, Gregory says his employer made it impossible for him to secure a comparable position at another law enforcement agency.
“Through a hostile work environment and failure to follow IDAPA, the employer has and interfered with the Claimant’s future retirement benefits and diminished the amounts potentially to be collected by the Claimant for retirement and under PERSI,” according to the notice.
“The current status of the conduct and circumstances that has brought about damage to the Claimant is the filing of this notice of tort claim and potential future actions against governmental entities and individual employees of the political subdivision,” the notice says. “Additionally, the Claimant presents with this Notice of Tort Claim the charge against his employer of retaliation for actions leading up to his being terminated. These actions include the failure of the employer to address legitimately presented claims of sexual harassment against fellow employees after the Claimant notified the employer of this conduct. The employer has failed to follow its own policies, IDAPA, and other state and federal regulations in its conduct against the Claimant.”
Meanwhile, in response to inquiries made about K9 Officer Ikar, the Nez Perce County Sheriff’s Office posted a message on its Facebook page confirming that his “handler no longer works with the Sheriff’s Office and we cannot comment on personnel matters.”
The Belgian Malinois was assigned to Gregory and they began training together in November 2019.
“IKar is currently in the care of a facility that will keep him safe until Nez Perce County can find a suitable long-term option. We are working with K9 handlers throughout the nation to determine if iKar would be suitable to join their force and continue his mission to serve the community. Originally, we spoke with surrounding agencies to determine if they had a need for a police K9 but have yet to find one. As we work through the options, iKar is in the best care with constant attention, lots of treats, and experienced staff to keep him busy,” the sheriff’s office says.
