PORT ANGELES — A Clallam County sheriff’s deputy who was fired in July 2004 for inappropriate contact with a teenage girl was reinstated Sept. 29 and will be reassigned and given about $40,000 in back pay.
William Cortani, a 13-year veteran of the department assigned to the West End, was terminated after an internal investigation found that he had engaged in conduct that appeared to solicit sexual activity from a high school-age daughter of a fellow deputy.
Cortani appealed the decision and arbitrators found he was inappropriately dismissed, said Marge Upham, director of personnel for the county.
Instead of termination, third-party mediators found that he should have been suspended for 30 days.
After the 30-day suspension is deducted, along with wages he earned at an interim job, Cortani will be compensated “upward of $40,000,” Upham said.
Currently, Cortani is on the payroll but not back to work, she said.
‘We’re working on where’
Sheriff Joe Martin said Cortani will return to active duty in the coming weeks.
“We’re working on where,” Martin said, who declined to discuss details.
No sexual contact occurred between Cortani and the girl, but Martin fired Cortani after the investigation partly because Cortani had been actively investigating child abuse cases and also to counter loss of trust among residents, Martin said.
The fact that the teen was the daughter of another deputy did not factor into his decision, Martin said.