Sheriff's office hit with another tort claim

SANDPOINT — A former sheriff’s lieutenant who alleges he was effectively demoted without cause before being unjustly fired is seeking $6 million in damages from Bonner County.

Counsel for former Lt. Bill McAuliffe filed the tort claim, which serves as a notice of intent to sue unless damages are awarded, on Wednesday. Sheriff Daryl Wheeler, Undersheriff David Hale and Capt. Ror Lakewold are also named as respondents and potential defendants.

Wheeler declined to comment, citing county policy not to remark on pending tort claims.

McAuliffe was a 12-year veteran of the sheriff’s office and attained the rank of lieutenant. But things began to sour in 2011, when Wheeler allegedly began welshing on a series of promises he made to McAuliffe, the claim said.

Those promises included rotating him out of a stress-prone internal affairs supervisor position, allowing him to attend the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s national academies and appointing him operations commander, the claim said.

McAuliffe was appointed to supervise the jail in 2012, but alleged that Wheeler and his command staff engaged in a pattern of behavior that was meant to marginalize, humiliate and undermine him.

These behaviors included isolating McAuliffe from jail budget discussions, falsely accusing him of insubordination and ordering others to disregard his directives, the claim alleges.

McAuliffe was ultimately removed as jail commander and appointed lieutenant of supplies, according to the claim.

“In essence, all of claimant’s law enforcement authority, as well as his management and supervisory authority, had been stripped by Wheeler and Hale,” McAuliffe’s counsel, Hayden attorney Larry Beck, said in the 13-page tort claim.

The claim said McAuliffe tried to take his concerns to Wheeler directly, but he was rebuffed. The claim also stated that McAuliffe advised an unnamed county human resources official of his predicament, but was told that county commissioners had fielded similar complaints about the sheriff’s office but felt that they were powerless to intervene.

McAuliffe ultimately took a medical leave of absence due to the stress of the situation last September, according to the claim. While on leave, Hale and Lakewold allegedly conducted a traffic stop of McAuliffe as he drove his daughter from school and attempted to badger him into signing a severance agreement.

Beck argues that the traffic stop was done without probable cause, which was a gross violation of McAuliffe and his daughter’s civil rights.

McAuliffe objected to his reassignment as supply lieutenant last December and was subsequently fired. A disciplinary hearing was conducted by Wheeler rather than a neutral party and he upheld McAuliffe’s termination, which Beck asserts violated his client’s right to due process.

McAuliffe’s tort claim was filed about a month after a former records clerk filed a claim for damages against the county. Eileen Ocano alleged gender discrimination and wrongful termination by Wheeler.