AURORA — The city’s Civil Service Commission ruled Wednesday that fired police Officer James Waselkow be reinstated after he was terminated for allegedly using excessive force.
Police Chief Dan Oates fired Waselkow in June, after the officer was accused of kneeing a suspect in the head, breaking the orbital bone in her right eye, during a 2009 domestic-violence call.
After hearing about 50 hours of testimony that ended last week, the commission ruled there was not enough evidence to support claims that he purposely used excessive force.
“I feel good about it,” Waselkow said of the ruling.
It was the first time in memory that a police officer in Aurora made public a disciplinary hearing.
“I didn’t feel I had anything to hide,” he said.
Waselkow’s attorneys could not be reached for comment.
The panel ruled that Waselkow be docked 160 hours of pay and is requiring additional training as deemed appropriate by his immediate supervisor.
He will receive back pay, and his benefits will be restored up to current levels as though he had never been fired.
The commission found that Waselkow broke three of the six directives he was accused of violating. Those include not reporting the use of potentially deadly physical force, violations in his role in the preliminary investigation and unsatisfactory performance.
He was cleared of allegations that he used excessive force, that he arrested a suspect without a warrant and that he did not provide help to an injured detainee.
“The evidence presented to us did not justify termination,” commission chairman Dave Williams said after the ruling.
Oates released a statement saying he was respectful of the disciplinary process but disappointed by the ruling.
“I took measures I believed, and continue to believe, were appropriate for the interest of the department and community,” he said in the statement.
Waselkow and another officer responded Feb. 12, 2009, to a domestic-violence call at a home where Carla Meza was.
During the call, Waselkow handcuffed Meza because, he said, he feared for his safety. He struggled with her and took her to the ground. He testified during his appeal hearing that he could have kneed her in the head.
“The commission finds that any such contact by (Waselkow) was inadvertent and that (Waselkow) intended to merely gain control of Ms. Meza, not to injure her,” the ruling said.
In its findings, the panel concluded that it was troubled that neither Waselkow nor four other officers on the scene noticed “obvious and serious injuries” to Meza.
