The City and Borough of Sitka has agreed to pay $320,000 to former Sitka Police Department officer Gary Cranford to settle a lawsuit in Alaska Superior Court in Ketchikan that the officer filed against the city.
Cranford, who served with SPD for about a decade, sued the city in October 2023, claiming that he “is a victim of SPD’s profound dysfunction and mismanagement.” His nine-page complaint asked for damages and to be reinstated in his former position as sergeant.
On April 23, the city and Cranford signed the out-of-court settlement with the city's $320,000 cash award to Cranford on the condition that he permanently drops all legal claims against the city, and does not apply for future employment with the police department. The parties agreed on four other terms in the settlement.
Cranford’s case is at least the sixth lawsuit filed against the city or the Sitka Police Department by plaintiffs represented by the Northern Justice Project of Anchorage.
In his lawsuit, Cranford said that he was promoted to sergeant after three and a half years in the department, and received good reviews from supervisors. He said "things began to change when Robert Baty took over as chief of SPD," and that he told the chief in September 2022 that he was planning to leave for other work.
On March 8, 2023, he was demoted from sergeant to officer. He filed a grievance through his union, which dropped it “for reasons that were never really explained to officer Cranford.”
In his lawsuit Cranford alleged that conduct by SPD officials violated his due process rights, breached the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, and breached the city’s collective bargaining agreement.
With the complaint, Cranford requested “declaratory and injunctive relief, actual and compensatory damages, costs and expenses of litigation including full attorney fees, and other relief.”
No dollar amount was specified at that time but he said he was “entitled to damages and reinstatement to his prior position and full attorney fees.”
When the lawsuit was filed, the city issued a public statement claiming that “the allegations presented in this lawsuit are not based in fact.”
“We want to assure the Sitka community and the public at large that we are fully committed to defending ourselves vigorously and on the merits of the case,” the city wrote in 2023.
Megan Sandone of the Anchorage-based firm Jermain, Dunnagan & Owens, P.C. represented the city throughout the case.
The parties were moving towards a trial early this year, submitting their final witness lists on Jan. 6.
The Sitka Assembly considered settling the case with Cranford during an executive session on Feb. 13. After the private session, Deputy Mayor Tim Pike said that the city “has agreed to the settlement reluctantly, on the advice of our counsel, due to, largely, extensive potential liability in continuing this case due to some decisions by our insurance carrier.”
“We are with reluctance accepting this, understanding that extinguishing future liability is a driving force on this,” Pike said.
On Feb. 24, the city gave notice to the court that the parties had reached a tentative settlement, and wished to vacate their scheduled trial date. Both parties signed the settlement on April 23.
Commenting on the settlement in an email today, Municipal Administrator John Leach said that "the lawsuit filed by Officer Cranford involved allegations related to his employment" with SPD.
"The city denied liability and defended vigorously against the claims," Leach wrote. "The parties engaged in mediation and reached mutually agreed-upon settlement terms to resolve the matter prior to trial, including monetary payment and non-monetary terms.
"After careful consideration of the fiduciary interests of the City and Borough of Sitka, the evaluation of the cost for the City to proceed to trial, and on the advice of counsel and with direction from the City’s insurer, the City Assembly agreed to the proposed settlement terms," Leach wrote.
Under the agreement, the city must: clear its personnel files of all negative reviews of Cranford submitted during the current chief’s tenure; provide a “neutral reference request for Cranford” for “each and every future reference request”; update Cranford’s status with the Alaska Police Standard Council to reflect that Cranford “is not under investigation for wrongdoing, and that there is no recommendation for de-certification”; and to return Cranford’s “rifle sling, if it can be located,” and any personal items.
Cranford also agreed that he will not apply for any future employment with the Sitka Police Department, although he could apply for a different position with the city.
Cranford's representation did not respond to a request for comment on the settlement from the Sentinel this morning by presstime today.
Robert Baty has been Sitka police chief since he was hired in 2019 on a temporary basis in an agreement that ends this June.
Sentinel Staff Writer Shannon Haugland contributed to this story.
