By Sentinel Staff
Superior Court Judge Trevor Stephens has set Sept. 16, 2019, as the trial date for the civil lawsuit filed by police officer Ryan Silva against the city, the Sitka Police Department and Chief Jeff Ankerfelt.
At a trial date conference in the courthouse Thursday the judge also set dates for trial preliminaries.
Silva, an officer with the Sitka Police Department since 2008, filed the lawsuit on Aug. 23. He is seeking actual, compensatory and punitive damages, claiming he was targeted for speaking out about problems he saw in the department, including concerns he raised about the department’s purchase of automatic weapons. He has been on administrative leave since early August.
The city is disputing Silva’s claims.
At Thursday’s hearing Judge Stephens set Dec. 3 as the date for complete initial disclosures and Aug. 30, 2019, for a calendar call. He scheduled the trial for 10 days starting 8:30 a.m. Sept. 16, 2019.
Preliminary witness lists are due by Dec. 17, with final witness lists on June 21, 2019, according to court documents.
Silva is being represented by James J. Davis of the Northern Justice Project, in Anchorage. The attorney for the police department and the other defendants is Megan N. Sandone of Jermain Dunnagan & Owens of Anchorage.
