A jury will resume deliberations in the D.C. police whistleblower civil lawsuit at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday.
In closing arguments Tuesday, Capt. Hilton Burton's attorney told the jury Chief Cathy Lanier lied.
"How can Chief Lanier protect you if she's lying to you?"
Lanier and co-defendant Assistant Chief Lamar Greene took the stand accused of violating D.C.'s whistleblower protection act.
Burton filed the lawsuit, alleging that in 2011 he was demoted two ranks and then transferred to the fire department in retaliation. He said it was because of testimony he gave to D.C. Council on how the Metropolitan Police Department handled police escorts for celebrities.
Burton's council testimony disputed statements made by Lanier, who said there was a policy on the issue and that she didn't approve escorts for celebrities.
A tweet by actor Charlie Sheen showing his D.C. police escort in 2011 sparked the investigation into authorization of the force's escorts for celebrities.
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Lanier's attorney argued that Burton was demoted for his performance, including the way he handled three barricade situations. The attorney told jurors Burton knew he was on shaky ground and called himself a "whistleblower" as his insurance policy.
"He was on very thin ice to begin with," the attorney told the jury, "which is probably why he gave council the testimony in the first place."
