Awards in two recent cases reinstate public safety employees

            Arbitrator Jonathan Klein ordered Lorain, Ohio to reinstate (without back pay) a police officer who had been dismissed for allegedly stalking a police dispatcher, unlawfully stopping a car he thought she was in, and lying to his supervisors. According to a report in the Chronicle-Telegram, Arbitrator Klein found the termination “excessive under the circumstances” and that while the officer’s conduct violated department policies, it did not rise to the level of intentional misconduct. Fired Lorain cop ordered reinstated.

            In another Ohio case, Arbitrator Jerry Sellman ordered the city of Mansfield to reinstate, with six months back pay, a police officer who had been dismissed for allegedly mistreating a person in custody. Mansfield police officer reinstated after ruling by arbitrator (Mansfield News-Journal). Arbitrator Selman found that while the officer admitted accidentally striking a person in his custody while trying to gain control, the act was not intentional and the officer had not been untruthful during the investigation. The arbitrator found that the evidence supporting the allegations was not “clear and convincing” and was insufficient to support the termination.