Wash. Court of Appeals published opinion — 309941.cor.pdf

Citation: Wash. Court of Appeals published opinion — 309941.cor.pdf
Jurisdiction: Washington (state)
Source verification: official_capture_completeness_unverified
Original Source: https://www.courts.wa.gov/opinions/pdf/309941.cor.pdf ↗

Related Parts of This Source

Full Text

1,755 chars

recreational, educational, and athletic activities for Yakima's youth. The organization

2

No.30994-1-III
Brownfield v. City o/Yakima

operates a recreational center. Through 2004, Officer Brownfield received high

perfonnance evaluations.

Jeff Brownfield continued to receive limited treatment for his head injury,

primarily in the form of anti-depressants. In January 2004, Brownfield reported to Dr.

Drew significant difficulty interacting with others at work and at home, and difficulty

accomplishing tasks. Brownfield reported, "he was so frustrated he experienced some

anger reactions he had never felt before." Clerk's Papers (CP) at 80. Brownfield added,

"I'm a space cadet, I forget appointments, I'm tired, can't focus." CP at 50. He spoke of

a "violence tendency," including having pulled his wife's hair on one occasion. ld. at 50.

Dr. Drew attributed the symptoms and conduct to Brownfield's 2000 head injury. In a

deposition, Brownfield denied reporting any work difficulties to Dr. Drew, but admitted

to reporting difficulties at home.

Jeff Brownfield's purported whistleblowing centered around complaints about

Officer Joe Dejoumette and Lieutenant Mike Merryman. Brownfield served with

Dejoumette in the Community Services Division and at YPAL. Merryman was a

supervisor of both Brownfield and Dejoumette.

On June 17, Officer Brownfield sent his direct supervisor, Sergeant Mike Amos, a

memorandum entitled, "Unethical work practices." CP at 82-83. Brownfield objected to

Dejoumette's failure to fulfill his Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) duties and

to another supervisor's, Lieutenant Mike Merryman's, excusing ofDejoumette's conduct.