Riggan said the “best sound bite” for the case came from Chief Jon Belmar himself, when he said Wildhaber’s lawsuit had been a factor in denying him promotions.

Hughes responded that Belmar had factored the lawsuit into his promotional decision because he knew the allegations Wildhaber was making were not true.

Earlier Friday, Belmar testified that one of the main reasons he did not promote Wildhaber in 2016 was an allegation that Wildhaber had tipped off the target of an FBI investigation.

Wildhaber has denied the allegation and no disciplinary action was taken against him in connection with it.

Belmar said he did not launch an internal affairs investigation against Wildhaber because the FBI investigation was pending and he didn’t want to “interfere.”

“This was remarkably concerning to me that he would have had an interview with the FBI as a subject and have this type of information documented,” Belmar told the jury.

The target of the investigation, Joseph Mahfood, pleaded guilty in August 2018 to gambling charges, filing a false tax return and money laundering, and received probation at his sentencing last November . Wildhaber and Mahfood knew each other through a police charity they were involved with.