Seattle City Wire

The Washington State Court of Appeals recently upheld the termination of Adley Shepherd, a former officer with the Seattle Police Department (SPD), who had been accused of punching a woman while she was detained in handcuffs.

Following the decision, Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan hailed the appeals court decision on her official Twitter page.

“Officer Shepherd’s termination was the right decision and the only decision consistent with our city’s values and use-of-force policies,” Durkan said in a statement she shared on Twitter. “The arbitrator’s choice to reinstate former Officer Shepherd was wrong from the outset, and the city and City Attorney’s Office rightfully pursued all legal options to uphold his termination.”

Durkan said that the court case demonstrates why it was necessary for Washington to reform the arbitration process.

“Seattle also should not be forced to go to court to overturn an arbitrator’s decision -- it’s why we fought so hard for statewide reform to arbitration in Olympia this year,” she said in her statement. “Our city is not alone in having to reinstate previously terminated officers -- in police departments across the state and nation, arbitrators are reversing discipline decisions in most cases.”

Durkan said that it erodes public trust to reinstate an officer who has used excessive violence, lied or demonstrated overt bias.

“SPD should not be forced to employ an officer whose actions and use of force are so contrary to SPD’s policies and values,” she said in her statement.

During the January 2014 incident, Shepherd was recorded punching a woman after she kicked him from where she was inside his patrol car, according to the SPD Disciplinary Action Report on the matter. The punch was hard enough to fracture the woman’s orbital socket.

The disciplinary review board chose to reinstate Shepherd after his termination, citing the belief that his punch was “perhaps reflexive” and that his “patience was being tried,” according to the Court of Appeals decision. The court characterized this justification by the review board as not only failing to enforce department policies, but also sending a message to officers that they could disregard department use-of-force policy so long as a situation is sufficiently difficult.