SPOKANE COUNTY, Wash. — Editor’s Note: This story was updated on October 11, 2022, to clarify that former SCSO Deputy Jeff Thurman disputes the allegations and filed his own lawsuit against the sheriff’s office.
Multiple lawsuits involving the Spokane County Sheriff's Office (SCSO) are uncovering inconsistencies in several former deputy's stories surrounding the culture within the department.
There are two active lawsuits involving SCSO.
On Sept. 3, 2019, former K9 deputy Jeff Thurman sued the Sheriff's Office for wrongful termination and defamation over allegations he used racial slurs and made violent comments about minorities. Then, on March 30, 2021, Former deputy Andrew Richmond filed suit against the department for discrimination, retaliation and constructive discharge. Richmond's lawsuit claims there was a hostile work environment after he reported Thurman for allegedly making racist comments that were overheard on another deputy’s Bluetooth car speaker. Richmond’s lawsuit against SCSO is expected to go to trial on March 6, 2023. Thurman’s defamation suit is expected to go to trial on November 28, 2022.
On June 19, 2019, Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich publicly announced that Jeff Thurman was fired following an internal affairs investigation for allegedly saying the n-word and “ready to kill some n***** tonight.” Thurman alleges in his own lawsuit that Sheriff Knezovich knew these claims were false when he was terminated.
"The Sheriff's juxtaposition of a series of uncorroborated claims and benign facts, interlaced with a complete failure to mention any of the significant exculpatory evidence within that report and it's materials, created an entirely false narrative,” Thurman’s lawsuit states.
SCSO has never denied that Thurman used racial slurs but says some of Richmond's claims are inaccurate.
Nearly two years after Thurman was fired, Andrew Richmond, a Black deputy, filed his own lawsuit against the sheriff's office. In his suit, Richmond claims he reported Thurman’s racist comments to three sergeants between 2016 and 2018, one of them being the only other Black officer employed by the sheriff’s office. None of those sergeants reported Thurman’s comments, according to the lawsuit.
Richmond's lawsuit also claims when he was transferred to the Spokane Valley precinct in 2016, Richmond said several fellow officers told him to "watch out for Deputy Jeff Thurman," calling him "racist.” In a response to the lawsuit, SCSO says the officer who allegedly told Richmond to “watch out for Deputy Jeff Thurman” has since testified that he did not make this statement to Richmond. The Sheriff’s Office also argued the statement is hearsay.
The lawsuit states that in 2018 Thurman was promoted to Richmond's direct supervisor. The next year, Richmond applied for a promotion to the Air Support Unit where Thurman was involved with the hiring process.
“The SCSO retaliated against Richmond after his complaint against Thurman, by and through its current and former employees by improperly passing him over for a promotion and continuing to allow – even encouraging – a racist culture,” according to Richmond’s lawsuit.
The lawsuit alleges there were multiple reports of Thurman using the n-word on and off duty. According to a transcript filed in the case, when Undersheriff Dave Ellis was asked in a deposition if he should have reported Thurman’s use of the racial slur, he said yes and agreed Thurman should never have been promoted to Richmond's supervisor, saying, "I have a lot of regret about this and I would apologize to Drew (Andrew Richmond)."
According to Thurman’s lawsuit, Richmond lacks credibility due in part to discrepancies in the time frame of when Richmond claimed he overheard the alleged racist remarks. Thurman’s lawsuit also states that the sheriff’s office “triangulated” the only time that the alleged incident could have taken place during the internal investigation.
“There is no evidence of a call from Jeffrey Thurman to that car or that deputy’s phone in the call records or elsewhere, other than the claimant’s statement that a call occurred,” Thurman’s lawsuit alleges. “The Sheriff knew that the same claimant made additional discrimination claims that were also shown to be false, as was an additional report of an alleged ‘acknowledgment’ conversation, which could not have physically occurred in the manner depicted.”
In May 2019, Richmond said in his lawsuit that he was finally ready to file a formal complaint with Internal Affairs.
“One day during roll call, Thurman let out another Jim Crow-era segregationist term. Richmond watched in disbelief as Thurman referred to Black citizens as “colored people” during a roll call. Mr. Richmond was shocked and alarmed, especially given Mr. Thurman’s earlier “ni**er” comments and the public setting,” Richmond’s lawsuit states.
Richmond says other officers "excluded, shunned and ostracized" him after he came forward about Thurman’s conduct, according to a motion in Richmond’s lawsuit. He claims that after he took his concerns to Sheriff Knezovich, he was involuntarily transferred to a less-desirable isolated area on the Whitman County line.
SCSO responded to Richmond’s complaint by saying in part, "Richmond was never promised that his identity would be kept confidential" and that his accusations of a hostile work environment "lack evidence" and "fall outside the statute of limitations."
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