ACLU sues City of Nome, former NPD chief and Lt.

On Thursday, Feb. 20, the ACLU and the law firm Sonosky, Chambers, Sachse, Miller & Monkman, filed a civil lawsuit on behalf of Clarice Leota Hardy in the United States District Court for Alaska, in Nome. The lawsuit details the Nome Police Department’s failure to investigate the alleged rape of Clarice Hardy in March 2017 and alleges a systemic bias against Alaska Native women by failing to investigate hundreds of sexual assaults reported to the Nome Police Department over the years.
Listed as co-defendants are the City of Nome, former Nome Police Chief John Papasodora and Lt. Nicholas Harvey. The lawsuit recounts that Hardy was sexually abused in her home, that she reported the crime to her colleague NPD Lt. Nick Harvey and later to then-Chief of Police John Papasodora with the result that no investigation was done, no charges filed and no suspect developed or held accountable, while valuable evidence was lost. The lawsuit further details how Hardy was led on to believe that an investigation is ongoing, but once it became clear to her that nothing had been done to further the investigation and facing perceived hostile behavior from her co-worker Harvey and inaction by Chief Papasodora, working at NPD became intolerable, resulting in her being put on administrative leave and later the termination of her employment with the City of Nome.
The lawsuit seeks awards for compensatory damages and punitive damages for the federal claims, as well as back pay, front pay and compensatory and punitive damages for her state law claims and costs and attorney fees. The lawsuit also seeks an injunction that the city is to cease “any discriminatory practices in the provision of law enforcement services and to take steps to ensure that all reports of sexual assault are investigated thoroughly without regard to the victim’s race or gender,” and for the court to order “Defendant City of Nome to adequately train all of its appropriate law enforcement personnel to conduct sexual assault investigations in an effective and thorough manner.”
Asked why the lawsuit is filed in federal court, ACLU’s Megan Edge responded in an email saying that defendants have violated the U.S. Constitution and federal law allows for a remedy for that violation. “We filed the case in Nome because all of the events of the case occurred in Nome, Ms. Hardy lives in Shaktoolik, close to Nome, and most of the defendants and witnesses are in Nome. Furthermore, we think a Nome jury is the most qualified to judge the actions and failures of their city and police department.”
A significant part of the 31-page court document states that Ms. Hardy’s case was not an isolated occurrence but “part of the city’s systemic and ongoing failure to protect Alaska Native women from sexual abuse and assault.”
The complaint says, “Ms. Hardy now brings this case to vindicate her constitutional right to equal protection of the law, and to vindicate the rights of all other Alaska Native women in Nome who no longer feel secure in their community because of the City of Nome’s egregious indifference toward their safety.”
Although Papasodora and Harvey are sued in their individual capacity, their de facto boss, then-city manager Tom Moran was not named as a co-defendant. Asked why Moran was not sued, Edge said, “We’re not going to discuss the reasons for why any particular person isn’t named in the complaint.”
Asked about the goal that the lawsuit hopes to achieve, Edge wrote, “Justice for Ms. Hardy. She has suffered greatly and deserves to be compensated for her harm. More importantly, we want to compel change in the City of Nome. NPD must take sexual assault cases seriously and investigate all of them thoroughly. Make sure those who would prey on Alaska Native women know they will be held accountable for their actions. And makes sure Alaska Native women can feel safe and valued in their community.”
Asked for comment, City Manager Glenn Steckman, who came to work for Nome just recently, declined to comment. “The City has still not received a copy of the complaint by the plaintiffs, nor has the city solicitor, as of this time,” he said on Monday evening.
The ACLU sent a letter to the City in Sept. 2019, foreshadowing the filing of a lawsuit if an offer to settle out of court in the amount of $500,000 was unsuccessful. The City at the time declined the settlement proposal.

The Nome Nugget

PO Box 610
Nome, Alaska 99762
USA

Phone: (907) 443-5235
Fax: (907) 443-5112

www.nomenugget.net

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