Cowles Co. settles lawsuit filed by former Spokane County sergeant

The parent company of The Spokesman-Review announced Tuesday that it reached a settlement in a defamation lawsuit filed by a former Spokane County sheriff’s sergeant in June 2021.

The case was brought by Jeff Thurman, an 18-year-veteran sergeant, who was fired from the sheriff’s office in 2019 after he was accused of allegedly using the N-word while speaking on the phone with other deputies and purportedly talking about killing Black people. He also was claimed to have sexually harassed a female deputy.

After his termination, Thurman sued Spokane County and former Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich, alleging that Knezovich mischaracterized the results of an internal affairs investigation and had wrongfully fired Thurman. In the lawsuit, Thurman challenged Knezovich’s characterizations of the investigation and said the claim of him using a racial slur was made up and that he was the real victim of racial discrimination. In December 2022, the jury agreed, finding Knezovich’s statements were false and awarding more than $19 million in lost wages and damages to Thurman and his wife.

Thurman also separately sued Cowles Co., which owns The Spokesman-Review, for the newspaper’s coverage of his firing, including of Knezovich’s news conference announcing Thurman’s termination.

The Cowles Co. said in a news release that the terms of the settlement were confidential.

Publisher Stacey Cowles said the newspaper stands behind its reporting, but acknowledged that some reports included statements by Knezovich that a jury later found to be false.

Thurman’s lawyer, Mary Schultz, wrote in an email that she couldn’t comment on the settlement because the terms are confidential.

Cowles told The Spokesman-Review that he’s “glad to have this issue resolved.”