Fired jailer to get $49,900

A fired Spokane County Jail supervisor will get about $50,000 to settle three legal actions challenging his termination last summer.

Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich fired Sgt. Gary Delzer July 26 after an internal investigation determined that Delzer had lied about two separate affairs with female subordinates and had issued a false document to get one of his lovers a job that would have paid her up to $75,000.

Following his dismissal, Delzer – a 26-year department veteran – filed a complaint with the Spokane County Civil Service Commission, a labor contract grievance and a civil rights lawsuit in U.S. District Court.

Delzer and the county negotiated a settlement, including a $49,900 payment, to settle all three actions, sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. Dave Reagan said in a press release.

“I still stand by my original decision in the matter,” Knezovich said. “However, we reached an amicable decision that resolves the matter without Spokane County facing the risk that an arbiter or jury might come to a different decision.”

But the settlement with Delzer may not be the only legal action resulting from the incident.

Although Knezovich never publicly named the female jailer, he did say she had become the brunt of talk and rumors within the jail.

Former jailer Annette Ahlf later filed a claim against the county seeking $1.2 million for defamation and for actions that she said forced her to resign.

Ahlf, who resigned after Knezovich fired Delzer, said in her claim that the information released to the media was “false” and “unprivileged.”

“The newspaper and or television stations subjected Ahlf to hatred, contempt, ridicule and obloquy,” Ahlf’s claim says.

Knezovich said the affair was common knowledge among other jail employees and that he released only that information that was approved by county attorneys.