A candidate running for a seat on the Sitka Assembly is suing the city over what he claims were restrictions on his ability to comment on police department Facebook posts.
Austin Cranford filed the lawsuit in Alaska’s U.S. District Court on Aug. 18. In the court filing, Cranford said in June, he told city officials that the Sitka Police Department was violating the First Amendment by restricting public comments on its official Facebook page.
In emails included in the suit, Municipal Administrator John Leach responded to Cranford, saying members of the public can’t post comments on the police department’s page or posts. However, in early August, Cranford said someone was able to comment on a post about an upcoming department event, contradicting Leach’s statement.
Eventually, Leach told Cranford that city employees wouldn’t spend more time on the matter, but that the city would respond to a legal challenge.
Cranford claims the discrepancy deprives him of his First Amendment right to free speech in a public forum maintained by the city. Cranford, who is running for a seat on the Sitka Assembly this fall, claims that the city’s actions have hindered his ability to communicate with the public and campaign politically.
Cranford asks the federal court to declare the selective comment policy on the police department’s Facebook page to be unconstitutional. He also asks that the court require the city to open the comments section on official social media pages to all members of the public equally, and to award him nominal damages and attorneys’ fees.
In a letter to Sitkans, Cranford said he hopes the lawsuit will serve to “defend a fundamental right, restore public trust, and hold those responsible accountable.”
Austin Cranford is the son of former police sergeant Gary Cranford, who sued the city in 2023, alleging he was unfairly demoted from sergeant to officer in breach of his union contract. The case was settled out of court earlier this year. Cranford walked away with over $300,000 and the city continues to deny liability in the case.
A request for comment from city officials was not returned by press time.
