A dispute between Caldwell city leadership and the citys police chief has escalated into a legal claim accusing officials of retaliation, planned termination and defamation.Caldwell Police Chief Rex Ingram is filing a tort claim against the city of Caldwell, alleging he has faced harassment, intimidation, and damage to his reputation tied to conflicts with Mayor Eric Phillips.The claim specifically references Mayor Eric Phillips and seeks damages exceeding $500,000.In a notice sent to the city on May 28, attorneys for Ingram say the chief has been targeted by conduct they describe as improper efforts to pressure him out of his job. The filing also alleges political retaliation connected to disagreements that began before Phillips took office.The claim references a leaked voice memo from November 2025 in which Phillips, then mayor-elect, discussed plans to fire Ingram after being sworn in. In the recording, Phillips said he planned to "look at all the things and fire" the chief while acknowledging concerns about potential legal consequences with Idaho News 6.At the time, Phillips described the recording as a candid moment of frustration and said he would conduct a fact-driven review of concerns surrounding the police department once in office.READ MORE | Leaked voice memo shows Caldwell mayor-elect discussing plan to fire police chiefMore recently, records obtained by Idaho News 6 revealed an email sent by Phillips to the city's insurance provider suggesting Ingram and potentially other city employees may have been involved in a complaint filed against him with the Idaho Attorney General's Office. In that email, Phillips described the complaint as "a wild attempt at mutiny from within" and discussed whether an investigation into city employees was warranted.I asked Phillips about the tort claim, and he said his office is working with legal counsel on a formal response."We are going so our attorney through ICRMP preparing a more official statement so we are going to push that out and stick with that," Phillips said.Legal representation for ICRMP delivered the following statement to Idaho News 6: "The Notice of Claim fails to identify any facts to establish liability against the City of Caldwell or any of its elected officials, officers, or employees. Although the notice broadly alleges "retaliation, defamation, threats, and harassment," it does not identify any specific conduct, statements, or actions that would support such claims. Nor does it identify any adverse employment action taken against Mr. Ingram who remains employed as the Chief of Police."The city also released a written statement on the matter."Mr. Rex Ingram's vague claims lack merit and are a baseless demand on taxpayer resources. The City of Caldwell will vigorously defend against any legal action Mr. Rex Ingram chooses to file," the statement said.Ingram also addressed the situation in a statement to Idaho News 6."I'm going to continue leading the organization to the best of my ability and the community," Ingram said.Notice of Tort Claim: Re: Ingram vs. City of CaldwellNotice of Tort Claim: ICRMPFor Canyon County happenings, news, and more join our Facebook Group: 2C Neighborhood News - Nampa, Caldwell, MiddletonThis story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy. ...read more read less