Lakewood settles police officer’s wrongful-termination suit

The Lakewood Police Department has agreed to pay $150,000 to its former police-union president to settle a federal lawsuit alleging he was wrongfully fired because of his association with Skeeter Manos.

Manos is the former Lakewood officer who stole more than $100,000 from a fund for the families of four Lakewood police officers killed by a gunman in 2009.

Former Lakewood police officer Brian Wurts sued the department in 2014 after he was placed on leave by Chief Brett Farrar the day Manos, the union’s secretary/treasurer, was arrested for embezzling from the memorial fund and the union.

According to the lawsuit, the department contended Wurts knew about the thefts but failed to act.

In the meantime, Wurts said, four additional internal investigations were opened into his conduct, including allegations he left the state while on paid leave, in defiance of department policy, and that he had sex with another officer while on duty.

Wurts was fired in December 2012. Farrar, in a letter of termination, said the investigations had “supported the conclusion that (Wurts’) conduct facilitated the theft and fraud committed by Skeeter Manos.”

The officers’ fund was created after Maurice Clemmons fatally shot police Sgt. Mark Renninger and officers Ronald Owens, Tina Griswold and Gregory Richards as they sat in a Parkland coffee shop before their shifts started Nov. 29, 2009.

Clemmons was killed by a Seattle police officer two days later.

Wurts alleged in his lawsuit that he was targeted for his union activities, for his vocal criticism of city and police officials, and because he is gay.

U.S. District Judge Benjamin Settle, in a pretrial order, dismissed the claim of sexual-orientation discrimination, saying not only had Wurts failed to prove the allegation but had not met the procedural requirements to pursue it in federal court.

The case was poised to go to trial in U.S. District Court in Tacoma when it was settled last week. The judge had ordered Manos, who is serving a three-year federal prison term, to be brought to the courtroom as a witness.

Wurts’ attorney, Douglas McDermott, declined to comment on the settlement, as did the department’s interim chief, Mike Zaro.

The city and Wurts, while acknowledging in the settlement that the document is public, agreed in writing that neither side would “initiate disclosure” of the settlement.

“If asked about the settlement, Wurts and the City agree to comment that the lawsuit was settled on terms that both sides considered fair,” according to a copy provided by the law firm representing the city.

Wurts was hired by the department in 2004 and had received exemplary reviews as an officer. He joined the Lakewood Police Independent Guild board and was elected guild president in 2006.

Settle had allowed the lawsuit to go forward on the allegation that Wurts had been fired because of his union activities and his criticism of police and city officials in that role.

“While there is evidence that Wurts’ friendship with Manos could have clouded his judgment, this is not the only conclusion that a reasonable juror could make,” Settle wrote.

“For example, a reasonable juror could conclude that the City was motivated by the opportunity to terminate a union president who openly criticized the City’s management.”

In that vein, Settle also said he would let Wurts pursue a claim based on alleged violations of his First Amendment right to speak out on issues of public concern.

“At the very least, Wurts lobbied on behalf of the entire police force for across-the-board raises and identified allegedly overpaid City administrators,” the judge said.

The city had countersued Wurts, alleging fraud and unjust enrichment. Those claims were dismissed as part of the settlement.