Ex-WA Firefighter Settles in Free Speech Case

A former firefighter in Washington state who was locked in a lengthy legal battle over a string of religious emails has reached a nearly $1 million settlement with his old department before the case reached court next month.

The Spokane Valley Fire Department agreed to pay Jon Sprague $900,000, along with retirement benefits, after he claimed he was fired in October 2012 for emails he sent in connection with his work restarting a local chapter of the Christian Firefighter Fellowship, KXLY-TV reports. He gave his attention to the group beginning in 2010 as a way to address a national increase in suicides among firefighters.

For about a year, Sprague would arrange meet-ups and discuss suicide prevention with colleagues in the emails, but an issue was raised about the emails by his captain in late 2011.

"As (the captain) said, mentioning God or Jesus was a problem," Sprague told KXLY.

A court battle ensued for around six years, with Sprague arguing that he didn't lose his free speech protections to talk about religion just because he was a public employee. The case eventually made it to the Washington State Supreme Court in 2017, and the justices agreed with Sprague, KREM-TV reports.

Before reaching the settlement, the fire department and Sprague had been headed back to court in February.

"The Spokane Valley Fire Department respects all the rights of its employees. The parties agreed that the settlement is not an admission of wrongdoing and was made solely for the purposes of avoiding the time and expense of continued litigation," the department said in a statement to KREM. "The Department’s insurance carrier, who is responsible for the settlement payment, advocated for the same."

Sprague had originally planned to retire with the Spokane Valley Fire Department.

“Now we continue to find a different way to express my convictions, my faith, and I hope those people I've left behind will have a little bit more confidence to express theirs,” Sprague told KXLY.