John Strahan v. Richard Kirkland Washoe County

John Strahan, a sergeant in the Washoe County, Nevada Sheriffs Office, was investigated, disciplined, demoted and transferred. He filed a federal lawsuit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against Washoe County and its sheriff, Richard Kirkland, claiming that the adverse employment action violated the First Amendment because it was in retaliation for his association with biker enthusiasts in a motorcycle club called “Blind Justice.” The district court granted summary judgment for the defendants, and Strahan appeals. We affirm.

FACTS

Strahan joined the sheriff’s department in Washoe County, Nevada in 1985, and was promoted to sergeant in 1989. In January 1998, Lieutenant Douglas Gist of the Office of Personnel Integrity began to collect and relay information about Stra-han to Chief Deputy Ray White, based on statements by other employees expressing concerns about Strahan’s activities. An anonymous letter dated June 8, 1998, apparently sent to local newspapers by another deputy, complained about a number of incidents in which Strahan’s inappropriate conduct was covered up by the department, including “back a few years when [other deputies] were advised that John [Strahan] was hanging out with…