Federal Court Issues Ruling in Lawsuit Filed by Former Cincinnati Fire Chief

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio has ruled that the City of Cincinnati violated the due process rights of former Fire Chief Michael Washington when City Manager Sheryl Long summarily terminated him in March, 2023.

Chief Washington, who served with the Cincinnati Fire Department from 1993 until his termination, was appointed Fire Chief in May 2021. He was summoned to City Hall on March 24, 2023, where City Manager Sheryl Long informed him that his employment was being terminated effective immediately. The termination letter cited issues including workplace culture, absence from a high-rise fire, mishandling of personnel matters, ineffective management of a training facility project, and communication failures.

Chief Washington subsequently filed suit against the City of Cincinnati and Long, alleging violations of his federal and state due process rights, seeking declaratory relief, and asserting defamation claims. We covered the case last year. Here is more.

In its ruling, the Court held:

• Chief Washington possessed a constitutionally protected property interest in his continued employment as Fire Chief after serving more than six months, based on language in the City Charter.
• The City violated Washington’s pretermination due process rights by failing to provide him notice of the charges and an opportunity to respond before his termination. Those who have been through Managing Disciplinary Challenges in the Fire Service will recognize this as a Loudermill violation.
• A factual dispute remains over whether Washington was also denied adequate post-termination process when he was offered a hearing before the same official who terminated him.
• City Manager Long is entitled to qualified immunity in her individual capacity regarding the post-termination due process claim, so she cannot be held liable personally for her error in violating Chief Washington’s due process rights.
• The City is entitled to statutory immunity on Washington’s state law defamation claims.

The unresolved issues in the case will now be decided at trial should the parties not settle the matter sooner. In a press release, Chief Washington stated:

“I dedicated my life to protecting the people of Cincinnati. To have my career ended on nothing more than one person’s opinion—without investigations, without complaints, and without evidence—was devastating. This confirms what I have said all along: there was never cause to fire me. My record of service speaks for itself and I will continue to fight until justice is done.”

Here is a copy of the decision: