Four separate lawsuits were brought against the city by former employees of Unalaska Department of Public Safety. They allege they were wrongfully fired, or forced to quit because of harassment and bullying in the department.
According to Unalaska Superior Court, one of the complaints, the suits were brought by John Merrion and Ann Sotelo and Anthony Recco, then-Sergeant.
Northern Justice Project, LLC, an Anchorage-based legal firm that focuses exclusively on civil rights cases, represented all four of the plaintiffs, even though they were filed separately.
One case involves a young officer in police who was “the latest in an extended line of officers who were significantly mistreated” at the department. His complaints were ignored by Jay King, then-police chief. All four complaints against the police department were filed during King’s tenure in chief.
King resigned in December from the department, one month after the city had settled the cases. King was named in all the suits. He was accused of not paying attention to harassment complaints and overlooking misconduct.
One complaint alleges King of being aggressive towards officers and of threatening one officer after she learned King was using office supplies to support his personal business.
King has not responded to multiple requests for comment.
In its response to the complaint the City of Unalaska denied all allegations against the department.
Two lawsuits are focused on Officer Theresa Ah–Siu who has been with the department from 2014 to date. One on Sergeant Kevin Wood who joined the department as an officer in 2009 and was promoted to sergeant in 2017. Both are currently employed by the Department of Public Safety.
Recco claims Ah-Siu “subjected” him to “a sustained campaign of hostility…and verbal abuse.” One called Wood “unhinged, violent.”
Wood denied all allegations in an interview. He said that the lawsuits were frivolous and made in bad faith.
Recent years have seen high turnover at the public safety department. This is not unusual in Alaska, where recruitment can prove difficult. The police department isn’t the only one struggling to fill positions. 26 vacant city positions, including a permanent manager and finance director, remain unfilled as of January 10.
Despite this, the turnover in the city’s public security department is high for years . Unalaska spent over two years searching for a chief before hiring king. He had previously worked 25 years in the Montgomery, Alabama police force before moving to Unalaska in 2020.
King was an active member of the Unalaska community. He also sat on several community and nonprofit boards, including Unalaskans Against Sexual Assault & Family Violence.
Unalaska has hired an outside investigator to review the allegations. Unalaska City Council will receive the report of the investigator in closed session during a upcoming meeting.
