Former deputy Hal Sprouse says he will consider appealing a panel’s decision to uphold his termination from the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.
The Lewis County Civil Service commission ruled Wednesday that his January firing was justified after Sprouse called a deputy prosecutor in October of 2009 to report what he believed was criminal activity by senior command staff at the sheriff’s office.
Though the commission disagreed with the sheriff’s office assertion that Sprouse was insubordinate and untruthful, the report maintained that Sprouse had no good faith evidence to step outside the chain of command.
“I had a right to do what I did and what I did was under Washington law and federal law,” Sprouse said. “Now I’ll just see what my options are.”
Sprouse said the specific ruling that he was not untruthful is one bright side of the decision. He hopes it will result in future law enforcement employment. In more than 30 years, Sprouse said he had received only one letter of reprimand.
“That’s really important because if you’re untruthful obviously you can’t be a cop,” Sprouse said.
Meanwhile, Sheriff Steve Mansfield maintains that Sprouse lied when he reported the alleged witness tampering and intimidation. He did so after Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown and Patrol Commander Steve Aust went to his home in September to investigate a leaked report focusing on Mansfield’s handling of a reported runaway on his property.
“If I can’t trust my people then they are no help to me, or you,” Mansfield said Wednesday.
In a prepared statement, Mansfield wrote that Sprouse was upset after receiving a letter of reprimand for not securing his copy of a report into a March incident on Mansfield’s property.
During an internal fact-finding investigation, the fingerprints of Sprouse’s son and son’s girlfriend — both felons — were found on the document.
The visit — and the totality of circumstances, according to Sprouse — led to his call to the prosecutor’s office.
“Sprouse had been a law enforcement officer with this office for eight years and knew, or should have known, the allegations he made had no merit whatsoever,” Mansfield said.
Sprouse says he was within his rights under the Whistle-blower Act, and still believes he did the right thing by reporting perceived criminal activity in the wake of a Washington State Patrol investigation into the sheriff’s conduct.
“It doesn’t have to be substantiated wrong-doing,” Sprouse said.
Mansfield said it was absurd that Sprouse would blame and accuse others for the results of his own actions.
He said Sprouse and his Lewis County Sheriff’s Office attorney were dishonest in trying to connect his termination to last year’s investigation into a runaway on Mansfield’s property.
Despite the failure to find that Sprouse was untruthful or insubordinate, Mansfield said his opinion is unchanged.
“They’re not going to change my opinion on that,” he said.
Sprouse said that without the investigation into Mansfield’s alleged misconduct, he would still be employed. He said other deputies within the sheriff’s office felt the same way, and that Mansfield put all his employees in an awkward position.
Mansfield has a different take.
“Well, if I hadn’t hired him, it wouldn’t have happened either,” he said.
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Eric Schwartz: (360) 807-8245
