Wash. Court of Appeals published opinion — 850661.pdf

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West Garage. Sgt. Hockett also shared that he felt threatened when an unknown

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For the current opinion, go to https://www.lexisnexis.com/clients/wareports/.
No. 85066-1-I

SPD employee wrote “HOCKETT” on a whistleblower protection flier and placed it

in a prominent position in the office.

Upon receiving Sgt. Hockett’s e-mail, Lt. Brooks called him into a

disciplinary meeting and ordered him to stop monitoring CO levels in the West

Garage. Lt. Brooks also suggested that Sgt. Hockett transfer to a different

precinct, which Sgt. Hockett opposed because it would have hindered his career

aspirations, decreased his pay, and increased his commute. Sgt. Hockett

understood Lt. Brooks’ insistence that he leave the West Precinct as punishment

for reporting his health concerns.

Sometime after this meeting with Lt. Brooks, an unknown SPD employee

pinned a picture in Sgt. Hockett’s cubicle of Morgan Freeman’s incarcerated

character “Red” from the film The Shawshank Redemption saying, “These walls

are funny, first you hate them, then you get used to them. Enough time passes,

you get so you depend on them. That’s institutionalized.” Sgt. Hockett interpreted

this picture to mean that other officers viewed him as being “trapped like a prisoner”

with no future career prospects at SPD because of his whistleblower conduct.

In September 2019, Sgt. Hockett e-mailed his supervisor notifying her that

he had begun taking anti-depressants and was “suffering from other health

conditions as a result of [CO] exposure in the [West Garage].” When the West

Precinct Captain learned of this e-mail, Sgt. Hockett was placed on administrative

leave for six months.

In June 2020, Sgt. Hockett sued SPD in King County Superior Court