Deputies say Canyon County sheriff fired them in 2020 after they supported his opponent
Canyon County paid $600,000 to two former sheriff’s deputies who said they were fired from the department after they openly supported Sheriff Kieran Donahue’s opponent in the 2020 Republican primary election.
Michael Teeter and Cecil “Trey” Ramsey were sworn officers of the Canyon County Sheriff’s Office until they were fired in June 2020 after they said they campaigned for Nick Schlader, who was running for sheriff against Donahue.
Teeter and Ramsey sued Donahue and Canyon County in February. In their complaint and demand for a jury trial, the two said Donahue retaliated against them by firing them after they participated in free speech by campaigning for his opponent. They said Donahue also breached the deputies’ contract with the department.
The Idaho Counties Risk Management Program, the nonprofit agency that provides property and casualty insurance and risk-management services to Idaho cities and counties, told the Idaho Statesman in an email that the county settled the lawsuit for $600,000 in August. The county was represented in the lawsuit by the the agency, which will pay the bill.
Donahue, in a document that responded to the complaint, denied that Ramsey and Teeter were fired because they campaigned for Schlader. The document does not elaborate on why the deputies were fired.
“The sheriff is glad the matter has been dismissed and continues to expressly deny the allegations,” said Joe Decker, county spokesperson, in an email Tuesday.
In 2020, Donahue ran for re-election for a second four-year term against two challengers in the Republican primary. No Democrats filed.
Ramsey, who had been with the department since 2018, said he was concerned about conditions in the county jail and said Donahue had not done enough to make sure the jail staff was safe. Teeter agreed, according to the complaint, and campaigned for Schlader while off-duty.
Schlader is a former Nampa police officer who left the department in 2014 because of his cancer diagnosis, the Idaho Press reported at the time.
Teeter had a Schlader lawn sign and donated to Schlader’s campaign. Ramsey openly spoke about the need for reform in the sheriff’s office, the complaint said.
The two officers were part of the Fraternal Order of Police’s Canyon County chapter. The organization routinely endorses candidates for sheriff. According to the complaint, a poll of members showed early results in favor of endorsing Schlader. After turnover on the local Fraternal Order board, members decided to remain neutral in the race.
The 2020 primary election took place early in the COVID-19 pandemic and was an all-absentee ballot election, for which the county finished counting votes on June 2, 2020. Donahue won the GOP primary nomination and fired Ramsey and Teeter a week later, according to the complaint.
The former deputies said, in their complaint, that the lost income and other damages they faced amounted to more than $75,000. They also asked for their jobs back and if not, future lost wages. The settlement did not include reinstating the two at their previous jobs, J. Grady Hepworth, their lawyer, said by phone.
In response to the settlement, District Judge David C. Nye dismissed the case Aug. 26 with prejudice, meaning Teeter and Ramsey cannot refile the same claim.
This story was originally published September 13, 2022 at 3:00 PM.
