Jury Awards Ex-Police Sergeant $40,500

A federal court jury has awarded $40,500 to a former Manhattan Beach police sergeant who said he was denied a choice position because he was openly critical of the City Council.

Jurors in the U.S. District Court case deliberated about two hours before returning their verdict last Friday in favor of William Sapp. The total award was levied against several defendants, including the city of Manhattan Beach, which was ordered to pay $7,500; retired City Manager David J. Thompson, who was ordered to pay $25,000 in punitive damages and $7,500 in compensatory damages, and former Police Chief Harry L. Kuhlmeyer Jr., who must pay $500.

Attorney Bill Shaeffer, who represented Sapp, said he will ask Judge Robert Takasugi to award him from $75,000 to $100,000 in attorney’s fees.

The jury concluded that Sapp, a field sergeant, was passed over in 1984 after he applied for assignment as an administrative sergeant because he sent a weekly newspaper a letter to the editor that was sharply critical of the City Council. Sapp, who had more experience than the man who got the job, testified that he had been led to believe that the job was his up to the time the letter was published.

Sapp left the Manhattan Beach force for another department.

Richard Terzian, who represented the city, argued that the person chosen for the position was better qualified because he had just completed a master’s thesis on how to reorganize the department. Terzian noted that two years later, Sapp was given the next open administrative sergeant position.