Former Sparks Police Officer George Forbush recently got a new victory in his lawsuit against the City of Sparks. Forbush sued the city after he came under fire for posting what many considered vile and threatening tweets. Those tweets were posted in 2020 when Black Lives Matter protests erupted around the country in the wake of George Floyd’s murder by Minneapolis police.
Forbush claimed free-speech rights protect his dozens of tweets critical of leftists—tweets that included threats to modify guns and shoot protesters. Portions of his case have yet to be decided. He said disciplinary action—four days suspension—in the wake of his tweets becoming public violated his First Amendment rights since he posted outside his job duties.
He sued the city in 2021 and retired in early 2022, City of Sparks spokesperson Julie Duwell confirmed to This Is Reno.
The Sparks City Council on Monday, Sept. 25, 2023, voted to continue to fight Forbush’s claims in district court.
Forbush’s attorneys said the four days of suspension amount to $1 million in damages for “psychological and emotional harms,” lost wages and future employment prospects. His lawsuit also claims, in part, that the City of Sparks “does not have a clear, consistent, and Constitutional policy regarding officers’ personal social media use.”
The City of Sparks challenged Forbush’s ability to file a lawsuit, arguing he should have exhausted all remedies under that city’s collective bargaining agreement with police. Sparks sought to dismiss the case because Forbush’s complaints should have been addressed in arbitration, not in a lawsuit.
In late 2021, however, federal judge Miranda Du ruled that Forbush’s case could proceed.
“The [collective bargaining agreement] did not expressly waive Plaintiff’s right to bring federal statutory claims in federal court,” she ruled. “Because Plaintiff need not complete the grievance process before seeking redress in court, the Court agrees with plaintiff.”
Sparks appealed Du’s decision to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. A hearing was held last month. On Sept. 1, Ninth Circuit judges determined the case could proceed.
“Mr. Forbush’s claims are not subject to arbitration,” they wrote. “A CBA can waive employees’ rights to bring statutory claims in court only if, applying general rules of contract interpretation, the waiver is ‘clear and unmistakable.’”
Due to his tweets, Forbush sparked a firestorm of controversy aimed at the City of Sparks. People said they were appalled by his commentary, which included transphobic comments, celebratory language about leftists and Black Lives Matter activists getting shot, and referring to women with derogatory language.
Forbush also congratulated an anonymous Twitter account—an account since removed for violating Twitter’s terms of service—for posting personal information about a leftist activist, something his lawsuit complains was done to him.
His attorneys maintain “Officer Forbush is a good cop” whose beliefs “are mainstream views held by millions of people, including a majority of the citizens of Sparks.”
CORRECTION: Forbush retired from the Sparks Police Department in 2022. An initial correction to this article said he was still employed. That was incorrect.
