Tensions between the City of Winlock and a Toledo police sergeant are far from over, after Winlock’s claims administrator declined to negotiate a settlement for a $3 million tort claim the sergeant levied against the city last summer.
Toledo police sergeant Sam Patrick said his attorney expects to file the lawsuit sometime in December.
“He is preparing the documents for that, so the next step is an actual lawsuit,” Patrick said. “The tort time has came and gone.”
Patrick levied a $3 million discrimination and defamation claim against the city of Winlock in mid-July that said Winlock Mayor Don Bradshaw falsely accused him of a felony as part of an attempt to reform the city’s police department.
In the state of Washington, citizens must file a tort claim before they can file a lawsuit against a government entity. After the tort claim, there is a 60-day period before the citizen can file a lawsuit.
The letter from Clear Risk Solutions, the claims administrator for the City of Winlock, reads in part, “The City of Winlock has insurance that would pay claims that they are legally liable for. We have had the opportunity to review the matter and are respectfully denying liability for your client’s claims. Therefore, we are declining to negotiate any settlement in this matter, at this time.”
Winlock originally made the claims in a letter dated Feb. 27, in which the city claimed a “material breach” in an interlocal agreement for police services with its neighboring city, Toledo. In that same letter, the City of Winlock accused Patrick of committing burglary.
The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office investigated the claim and the Lewis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office reviewed its findings, declining to file charges.
A letter from Lewis County Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer regarding his decision not to charge Patrick reads in part, “I am dumfounded (sic) how this matter reached my desk in the first place. The timing of this complaint against a member of the Toledo Police Department is suspect, as is the complaint itself ... there is absolutely no proof that Sgt. Sam Patrick had anything to do with any of the events alleged.”
As part of a mediation settlement to end the contract for police services early, Winlock withdrew its claims. In part, the settlement reads, “Winlock renounces all claims of Toledo materially breaching the LEO (Interlocal Agreement Between The City Of Toledo And The City Of Winlock For Law Enforcement Services), as baseless and without having justification.”
Bradshaw signed the document on June 11.
“Because of his written comment indicating that I was suspected of being in an unlawful area — that comment alone — indicated that I was a suspect in a felony crime,” Patrick said. “Because of that, my department could not just let it go. It has to be investigated and it has to be investigated by an outside agency. … They made a written, accusatory, felony statement of activity that I allegedly did and then just left it.”
Bradshaw said Wednesday that he has no plans to negotiate a settlement should Patrick file the lawsuit. When asked how he planned to stand by his original claims after he signed a document that said they were “baseless and without having justification,” Bradshaw said, “We were trying to put an end to it.”
At Winlock City Council’s regular meeting on Monday, Nov. 26, Bradshaw referenced Patrick’s lawsuit. While the council entertained a motion to fire its legal counsel, Bradshaw said the city was in the middle of a lawsuit.
“You know damn well and who it’s with,” Bradshaw told councilors at the meeting. “Not Sam Patrick — that was nothing. I’m telling you that we’re suing somebody.”
Although Patrick was not present at the meeting, he saw a Facebook Live video that an audience member recorded.
“I heard him make the comment that ‘the Sam Patrick lawsuit is nothing,’ Patrick said. “Clearly it’s not nothing. The guy has put me through — because of his written statement and allegations — he has put me through a complete formal investigation that was unnecessary that I now have to stamp on every resume that I ever fill out for the rest of my life.”
Bradshaw previously told The Chronicle that the claims against Patrick were a judiciary finding by Winlock’s municipal court judge. However, there are no records to support this claim because the city never charged Patrick.
When asked Wednesday if he could clarify what he meant by “judiciary finding,” since the city never filed charges, he said, “Really, we are not suing Patrick and Patrick’s not suing us. We are in the process of suing Toledo.”
Patrick, however, said he has no intention of letting this go.
“The bottom line is — this goes to trial — Don is going to have to testify on the stand,” Patrick said. “He won’t be able to run away and go to his office. … He is one of a number of witnesses that are going to have to go. He made the statement, he wrote it down, and the council is going to have to step up and say ‘yeah we knew about it’ or ‘no we didn’t.’ … Don is going to have to get up and answer for his statements. You just can’t do that to people.”
