Dismissal sought in wrongful termination suit

SANDPOINT — Attorneys in a wrongful termination suit filed by a former Bonner County sheriff’s deputy who was fired after his son was accidentally jolted by a Taser are moving to dismiss the case.

If a 1st District judge approves the joint motion, Corey Cotter’s suit against the county would be dismissed with prejudice, which means it can never be re-filed. Neither side is being awarded costs or attorney fees, according to court documents.

Cotter said in the suit he was forced out of the department following a 2010 incident as he prepared to go on duty as a patrol officer. Cotter was “spark testing” the Taser when his 4-year-old son kicked the device and was briefly shocked.

Periodic spark testing is done to verify that the Taser is operating correctly.

After disclosing the incident to his superiors, Cotter alleged in the suit that he became the subject of a biased internal investigation. The probe concluded that Cotter violated department policies regarding use of force, care of department property, insubordination and workplace misconduct.

Following his firing, Cotter filed a $500,000 tort claim against the county. He filed suit after the claim for damages was not honored.

It’s unclear in court documents if there was a settlement in the case or what caused the parties to drop the litigation. Attorneys for the county and Cotter moved for the dismissal on Jan. 23.

Cotter’s counsel, Richard Cuddihy, did not respond to a request for comment.