Fired agent wins big in federal court

A former federal law enforcement agent, who was fired after he investigated police corruption on the Spokane Indian Reservation, has won a $400,000 lawsuit against the Bureau of Indian Affairs for malicious prosecution.

The ruling in U.S. District Court for Eastern Washington by senior Judge Justin Quackenbush was an emphatic condemnation of the bureau for the treatment of its own agent, Duane Garvais (right), at the behest of the Spokane Tribe.

“The BIA maliciously caused the institution and continuation of unfounded criminal proceedings against Duane Garvais in Spokane Tribal Court in retaliation for the proper performance of his duties in investigating thefts by BIA patrol officers with close connections to the Tribe,” Quackenbush ruled Wednesday after a non-jury trial.

Read the rest of Kevin Graman’s story here, with links to past coverage.