The Associated Press
WARSAW, Ind. (AP) - A jury has awarded $200,000 to a former Elkhart city police officer who claimed he was defamed by Elkhart’s former mayor in a letter written to a newspaper.
A Kosciusko County jury returned it verdict and announced the award Friday after hearing four days of testimony.
Former Elkhart police officer Bruce Davidson had claimed he was defamed by a 1994 letter former Mayor James Perron wrote that was published in the “People’s Forum” of Elkhart’s daily newspaper, The Truth.
Davidson and his lawyer said the letter alleged that he was soft on crime and that he abused his privileges as an Elkhart police officer.
Davidson, who’s now an attorney in Indianapolis, maintained that the letter harmed his reputation as an officer.
He and his attorney declined to comment after Friday’s verdict.
Marie Anne Hendrie, who is one of Perron’s attorneys, said he plans to appeal the jury’s decision. She said the evidence was clear Davidson wasn’t defamed in the letter.
Hendrie said that she isn’t sure if her client will have to pay the judgment out of his pocket or if the city’s insurance will cover it.
Davidson’s lawyer, Roger Bird, did not ask the jury for a specific amount of money, telling the jury they’d have to decide how much Davidson’s reputation was worth.
Kosciusko Circuit Judge Rex Reed dismissed Davidson’s lawsuit after it was transferred to his court from Elkhart County, but the Indiana Court of Appeals sent it back, saying the lawsuit should go forward.