COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) - A Missouri appellate court on Tuesday upheld the firing of a former Columbia police officer who injured an inmate when he shoved him against a wall.
The Missouri Western District Court of Appeals said former Columbia City Manager Mike Matthes had the authority to uphold the firing of officer Rob Sanders.
In 2011, Sanders shoved inmate Kenneth Baker in a holding cell, fracturing a vertebra in Baker’s neck.
Although an internal police investigation found that Sanders followed police department policy during the confrontation and Sanders was acquitted of misdemeanor assault, former Police Chief Ken Burton fired the officer.
Sanders had been suspended four times and faced 13 disciplinary citations while he was a Columbia police officer, which Burton said was a factor in his decision to fire him, The Columbia Missourian reported.
Sanders sued the city seeking reinstatement to his job but a Boone County Circuit Court judge rejected his lawsuit last year, prompting Sanders’ appeal.
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