Spokane deputy fired for having on-duty sex

A Spokane County sheriff’s deputy caught having sex on duty is now out of a job.

Deputy Scott Kenoyer was fired Thursday by Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich after an internal investigation revealed Kenoyer had sex, while on duty, with the same woman linked to a Spokane police officer who resigned in June.

The Sheriff’s Office discovered evidence of a relationship between Kenoyer and the woman while investigating the case involving Spokane police Officer Jeff Graves, according to a news release. The woman alleged Graves was stalking and harassing her after they met on Facebook and had sex. Graves was cleared of any criminal wrongdoing but resigned his position.

When investigators approached Kenoyer, he admitted to having sex with the woman, according to the release.

“He was honest, he was straightforward,” Knezovich said. “This was sex on duty, and you just don’t do that.”

Knezovich offered Kenoyer a last-chance agreement, saying he would be terminated but reinstated under strict guidelines. Kenoyer and the Deputy Sheriffs Association objected to the use of the word “termination,” in the agreement, so he was fired permanently, the department said.

“This was a very harsh last-chance agreement,” Knezovich said. “Let’s face it, it’s sex on duty.”

The relationship between Kenoyer and the woman occurred around the same time as Graves’ relationship with her occurred, Knezovich said.

Knezovich said this does not change anything about the Graves investigation.

“We couldn’t find any direct relation other than they dated the same person,” Knezovich said.

Kenoyer began working for Spokane County in 1998, when he was assigned to the jail. In 2002, he joined the Sheriff’s Office, working as a graveyard patrol deputy for five years before being shifted to East Valley High School, where he worked as a resource officer. At the time of his resignation, Kenoyer was working as a patrol deputy, Knezovich said.

Since he took office in 2006, Knezovich has fired or forced the resignation of at least 48 employees, including eight commissioned deputies, according to news reports.

Kenoyer is the second Sheriff’s Office employee to leave this week. Detective Dale Toliver resigned effective today after he was arrested on suspicion of striking his girlfriend and another man at a party near Odessa, Wash.