{"id":390,"date":"2026-06-12T19:05:29","date_gmt":"2026-06-12T19:05:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alaskamovingnetwork.com\/?p=390"},"modified":"2026-06-12T19:05:29","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T19:05:29","slug":"federal-lawsuit-alleges-wrongful-prosecution-following-mishandled-metlakatla-police-investigation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alaskamovingnetwork.com\/?p=390","title":{"rendered":"Federal lawsuit alleges wrongful prosecution following mishandled Metlakatla police investigation"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

A former Metlakatla resident who was previously charged with first-degree murder has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against more than 30 parties connected to the case, alleging he was wrongfully indicted and prosecuted.<\/p>\n

Read more University of Alaska staff union files unfair labor practice charge against employer<\/a><\/p>\n

The lawsuit alleges that Isaac Henderson, who was 18-years-old at the time of his brother\u2019s death in 2021, immediately described the shooting as an accident and an act of self-defense. According to the complaint, Henderson was charged with murder following a mishandled investigation, leading to years of prosecution.<\/p>\n

Last year, Ketchikan Superior Court Judge Daniel Doty dismissed the case, barring re-filing of the same charges.<\/p>\n

In the dismissal order, Doty wrote that officers of the Metlakatla Police Department included false and misleading information on evidence logs, relied on false and incomplete witness narratives, destroyed evidence, withheld key documents from the defense and lied multiple times under oath. Doty said that due to the severity of the discovery violations, there was \u201cno hope of a fair trial.\u201d<\/p>\n

Former MPD Chief Bruce Janes said that the investigation was \u201cvery sloppy\u201d and \u201cprobably the worst I\u2019ve ever done.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are 35 defendants total in the complaint, including Janes, former MPD officers Austin McKeehan and Jason Henry, and Metlakatla Mayor Albert Smith. There are multiple other unidentified defendants, including \u201cMetlakatla Indian Community policymakers\u201d and \u201cunknown governmental entity defendants.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The lawsuit alleges that the harm from the public accusation of murder extended beyond the court. According to the complaint, the tribal council permanently evicted Henderson from the Annette Islands Reserve, citing safety concerns. Henderson alleges this caused him to lose his tribal benefits and home community.<\/p>\n

Henderson is seeking both compensatory and punitive damages, as well as attorney fees, costs, interest and all other relief available under federal and state law.<\/p>\n

Henderson\u2019s attorney, John Phillips, said in a statement that the case is not an attack on Metlakatla. <\/p>\n

\u201cMetlakatla is a proud community, and its people deserve police work worthy of that pride,\u201d Phillips said. \u201cThey do not deserve a system where key evidence is ignored or destroyed, records cannot be trusted, and an 18-year-old is left to face a murder prosecution for years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Phillips said the defendants will have the opportunity to respond in court and all allegations will be resolved through the judicial process.<\/p>\n

Read more Alaska Division of Elections intends to strike U.S. Senate challenger Dan Sullivan from the ballot<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Former MPD Chief Bruce Janes said that the investigation was \u201cvery sloppy\u201d and \u201cprobably the worst I\u2019ve ever done.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":389,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-390","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nFederal lawsuit alleges wrongful prosecution following mishandled Metlakatla police investigation - Alaska Moving Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/alaskamovingnetwork.com\/?p=390\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Federal lawsuit alleges wrongful prosecution following mishandled Metlakatla police investigation - 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