Seattle Fire Department officer who helped expose scandal sues over demotion

A high-ranking Seattle Fire Department officer filed a lawsuit against the city Monday, claiming he was demoted in retaliation for exposing an ethics scandal in the Fire Marshal's Office.

Jim Woodbury claims in the lawsuit filed in King County Superior Court that he was demoted from deputy chief to battalion chief in January after clashing with Fire Chief Gregory Dean over Dean's refusal to adequately punish misconduct in the marshal's office.

Woodbury had filed a whistle-blower complaint with city ethics investigators last year about Lt. Milt Footer, a fire inspector who demanded free backstage passes to a Hannah Montana concert and failed to bill Qwest Field for nearly $200,000 in fire services. Footer had worked at Qwest Field in an unusual arrangement where First & Goal, the Paul Allen company that owns the Seahawks, paid his salary.

A report by the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission in March substantiated Woodbury's complaint and criticized Dean for failing to punish Footer's actions, which violated city ethics laws and resulted in a "gross waste of public funds."

Footer, a 29-year department veteran, resigned last month.

First & Goal and the city later reached a settlement in which the company agreed to repay $122,000 for the services Footer failed to bill.

Woodbury, meanwhile, was demoted to battalion chief in January during a round of city budget cuts.

A 22-year veteran of the department, he was the sixth most senior of the 11 deputy chiefs at the time.

Woodbury's suit claims the demotion was direct retaliation for challenging Dean's punishment of Footer as well as misconduct by two other Fire Marshal's Office employees.

According to his lawsuit, Woodbury also clashed with Dean over light punishment for two other firefighters in the marshal's office — one who admitted stealing $400 from a department bank account but repaid it, and another who had OK'd safety permits for boats he didn't inspect.

Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels' office rejected Woodbury's retaliation complaints after hiring a private lawyer to investigate them.

The lawyer issued a report in April saying Woodbury's demotion had been recommended by assistant chiefs in the Fire Department for "business reasons" — and that the assistant chiefs were unaware of Woodbury's whistle-blower complaint.

However, Nickels did issue a rare formal rebuke of Dean for failing to properly handle the complaints about Footer.

And the mayor's office also announced several reforms to the Fire Marshal's Office, such as rotating fire inspectors through the office to minimize potential ethics problems.

Regina LaBelle, legal counsel for Nickels, said the mayor's office would have no comment on the lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages for loss of wages and emotional distress.

Jack Sheridan, Woodbury's attorney, said his client could also seek reinstatement as deputy chief.

Jim Brunner: 206-515-5628 or jbrunner@seattletimes.com