The University of Oregon’s appeal for a new trial in light of a lawsuit they lost in September was denied today.

In September, James Cleavenger won $755,000 in a federal lawsuit he brought against the UOPD. The jury found that UOPD wrongfully terminated Cleavenger and made attempts to injure his future career in law enforcement to punish Cleavenger for whistleblowing.

The defendants in the case were Lieutenant Brandon Lebrecht, Sergeant Scott Cameron and former chief Carolyn McDermed. McDermed abruptly announced her retirement Friday, despite emails that showed her full schedule for this week obtained hours before the announcement. The UOPD announced today that former captain Pete Deshpande will fill the role of interim chief.

More to come.