Opinion ID: 155479
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Plaintiff Freddy D. Haragan

Text: Plaintiff Haragan was employed as Police Chief for the City of Waurika from June 1991 until his termination on August 30, 1993. On June 17, 1993, Nolan Combs was appointed as the new City Manager. During the following two months, he and Chief Haragan had several disputes in which Haragan refused to clean out his office, refused to take water samples without a license, and refused to fire the animal control officer for fear of a lawsuit. When the animal control officer died in late July or early August 1993, Haragan accompanied the new officer to the city’s dog pound to show him the facilities. He discovered blood all over the pound, approximately eighteen to twenty dogs and newborn puppies that had been shot, and two men throwing the animals into a hole they had dug with a backhoe. The two men did not work at the pound, but were the City Manager’s son and a city employee. Believing that a crime had been committed, Chief Haragan returned to his house and called the Humane Society in Lawton, Oklahoma to report what he had seen. He next called Channel 7 and informed the news station what had occurred at the pound. Haragan then called Assistant District Attorney Karen Peck to inform her of the situation, and went to speak with Mayor Darvon Bates. Thereafter, Chief -3- Haragan and a Humane Society representative were interviewed by several news stations about the incident. Either that evening or the next day, Haragan went to City Manager Combs’ office and asked him about the destruction of the dogs. Combs was “very angry” at Haragan for calling the news station and “flew off the handle.” Appellant’s App. at 162, 164-66. Within days, the city council held a meeting about the dogs which was covered by the news media. Several weeks after the incident, City Manager Combs terminated Chief Haragan. When Haragan asked why he was being terminated, Combs refused to reply, simply referring him to the letter of termination. Defendants maintain that Haragan was terminated for his poor performance and his failure to obey the City Manager’s orders. Plaintiff Haragan brought claims against the City of Waurika and City Manager Combs, alleging that he had been terminated in retaliation for his protected speech about the dogs, in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and Oklahoma public policy. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of defendants on the ground that Haragan failed to specify the content of his statements to the news media, holding the evidence insufficient to show the speech involved a matter of public concern. The court denied Haragan’s motion to reconsider, and this appeal followed. -4-