Weast

MEMORANDUM *

Plaintiff-Appellee Rod C. Weast, a sergeant with the Pierce County Sheriffs Department (“the Department”), filed a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claim alleging that he was removed from his position as supervisor of the Hazardous Devices Squad (“HDS”) after criticizing the policies and management of the Department. The individual defendants, Sheriff John Shields and Captain Myron Smith, asserted that they were entitled to qualified immunity and moved for summary judgment dismissal. The district court denied the motion. Defendants filed this interlocutory appeal.

Qualified immunity will attach to Shields and Smith unless Weast can show “1) that [his] speech involved a matter of public concern, and 2) that the interests served by allowing [him] to express [himself] outweighed the [County’s] interest in promoting workplace efficiency and avoiding workplace disruption.” Keyser v. Sacramento City Unified Sch. Dist., 265 F.3d 741, 747 (9th Cir.2001) (citing Brewster v. Board of Educ., 149 F.3d 971 , 978 (9th Cir.1998)). This balancing of free expression and workplace disruption was first articulated in Pickering v. Board of Educ., 391 U.S. 563, 568 , 88 S.Ct. 1731 , 20 L.Ed.2d 811…