Pierce County has paid more than $4 million as part of a lawsuit for the wrongful termination of a former deputy prosecutor, according to his attorneys, nearly a year after jurors in the case found his firing violated public policy.
Doug Vanscoy worked for the Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office for more than 35 years and was chief of its civil division. He was fired in 2019 after he filed a whistleblower complaint regarding a $50,000 telecommunications contract he refused to approve for the office of County Executive Bruce Dammeier.
“Vanscoy was a dedicated public servant who was fired for doing his job and trying to prevent illegal government conduct,” his attorney, Jack Connelly, said in a news release announcing the payment Tuesday.
Vanscoy, who oversaw lawsuits against the county among other duties, wouldn’t sign the contract because he believed it was unlawful, according to court documents. He claimed that Prosecuting Attorney Mary Robnett and Dammeier’s executive counsel, Don Anderson, told him to back off and that his firing was retaliation for his attempts to address government misconduct.
The civil case went to trial last year, and jurors sided with Vanscoy in December, awarding him and his wife $2,041,118.70 in damages. Pierce County appealed the verdict, but Connelly said the county dropped it after Vanscoy filed his reply with the Court of Appeals. In his news release, the attorney said post-judgment requests for damages, prejudgment interest,...
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