A Spokane police sergeant fired after a drunken hit and run crash filed a $4 million claim against the city of Spokane Wednesday, claiming he was wrongfully fired because he’s an alcoholic.

Bradley N. Thoma, 44, was fired Monday after refusing an offer from Chief Anne Kirkpatrick to accept a layoff and be eligible to be rehired as a detective if he completes a court deferral program for his drunken driving charge.

That offer came after Kirkpatrick ruled that Thoma was unable to work as a police officer under the court program because it requires him to have an ignition interlock device on his car.

But that decision was wrong because it didn’t rightfully considers Thoma’s alcoholism as a disability, said Thoma’s lawyer, Bob Dunn.

“This is about as unfair an employment practice as I’ve seen in a long time,” Dunn said. “The only thing I can think of that’s more unfair is firing someone who has cancer.”

Read the rest of my story: Thoma files $4 million claim against city.

Read the claim here.

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