COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A former Fairfield County sheriff's deputy said he will file a federal lawsuit against Fairfield County Sheriff Dave Phalen on Monday.
To one side of the issue is free speech, while on the other side, it's an issue of honesty.
Can a public employee talk about their boss on a blog Web site and not face termination? That's what a court may have to decide.
Lt. Frank Diamond, now with the Laurelville Police Department, said he was unjustly fired last fall when he criticized the sheriff on a blog Web site.
"(I was) just voicing my concerns and opinions," Diamond said.
But those concerns and opinions were voiced on a local blog Web site while Phalen was running for re-election.
"I questioned his integrity in reference to his running of the sheriff's office," Diamond said.
Diamond's attorney said his firing is a violation of his free speech.
"Just because you work in law enforcement doesn't mean you give up your constitutional rights. I mean, think about it. These are people that are sworn to uphold to enforce the law and protect the constitution. It would be ridiculous to think that they weren't given those same protections," said Jason Griggs, Diamond's attorney.
The Fairfield County sheriff said he doesn't fire many people, but that he did have to fire Diamond, citing a much different story.
"Many of the things that he put in a public form were blatantly false. They were total disregard for the truth. Things like there was going to be a criminal investigation by the attorney general's office, that I was fired from the Washington, D.C. police department, where I served almost 40 years ago honorably -- just a number of things that were not true," Phalen said.
The sheriff said a deputy must first and foremost be honest.
"During the internal investigation he lied 31 times to our investigators during that time. The other thing is that Mr. Diamond has been in trouble before. He has been suspended within the last few months for not telling the truth as part of that. He's also been disciplined for mistreating a prisoner," Phalen said.
Within the next two weeks, Diamond and his attorney plan to file a federal lawsuit.
There is already arbitration underway and they're awaiting the results.
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