Spokane County has to pay a former Sheriff’s Office deputy and his wife $19.5 million in damages after a Superior Court jury on Friday determined he was wrongfully fired and defamed by Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich.
Knezovich fired Sgt. Jeff Thurman in 2019. In a news conference, the sheriff said he made the decision after an internal affairs investigation found Thurman used the N-word while on the phone with other deputies, talked about killing Black people and sexually harassed a female deputy. Thurman sued Knezovich later that year.
Full story: Spokane County jury awards $19.5 million to former sheriff’s deputy and his wife in defamation case