SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — The Spokane City Council has voted not to rehire a Spokane police officer who was fired after an arrest for drunk driving and leaving the scene of an accident.
The council’s vote Monday night rejects a proposed settlement to rehire Brad Thoma at a lower rank and give him about $275,000 in back pay.
The Washington State Human Rights Commission mediated the settlement and Mayor David Condon had signed it. But last week Condon asked the council to delay a vote pending a new commission review.
Thoma’s lawyer Bob Dunn tells KREM-TV his client plans to sue Spokane if the settlement isn’t approved.
The Spokesman-Review says (http://bit.ly/AjryTE ) Thoma received a deferred prosecution for a 2009 DUI arrest. He was fired after declining other city work during the time he would have been required to install a breath analyzer to start his car.
