Muni of Anchorage appealing damages award to former APD lieutenant

The Municipality of Anchorage is appealing a federal court's damages award to former APD lieutenant Anthony Henry.

Following a month-long trial in his wrongful termination lawsuit, Henry won his case in November of 2018 , getting damages of just over $2 million.

"You got your name back," said Ray Brown, one of the Henry's attorneys said at the time of the jury's decision.

U.S. District Judge Ralph Beistline, who presided over the case, read the verdict in his courtroom in downtown Anchorage. The eight jurors who decided the case told Beistline their verdict was unanimous.

The jurors agreed that Henry had been wrongfully terminated by the municipality and that he was owed compensation because of it.

Henry sued the city after he was fired in early 2015, months after a scathing internal report claimed Henry had blown the cover of an undercover informant within the Alaska National Guard, and that Henry’s Chief, Mark Mew, had not been bold enough in managing Henry’s perceived infractions.

But Henry's attorneys argued that the internal report was deeply flawed and that Henry was actually fired for standing up for another officer diagnosed with a mild case of multiple sclerosis.

Henry's attorneys argued the case boiled down to "standing up against bullies."

One of Henry's attorney, Meg Simonian, said in an interview that the city should have known it had a losing case and shouldn't have pursued it.

The jury deliberated just a day before reaching a verdict.

In a prepared statement after the verdict was reached, Anchorage municipal attorney Rebecca Windt Pearson said she was “disappointed”.

Mayor Ethan Berkowitz said the police department had changed under new management. “Today, APD is under new leadership and has a renewed commitment to honoring the public trust and the highest standards and practices of police conduct. Chief (Justin) Doll and his command staff have taken steps to ensure that we comply with those standards and practices every day,” Berkowitz said.