A judge in New York has overturned the firing of a long-serving Black former police officer who fought with a white colleague as he placed a suspect in a chokehold. State supreme court judge Dennis Ward praised Cariol Horne’s intervention during the 2006 incident, which led to her dismissal by the City of Buffalo two years later and a lengthy legal fight for compensation. In an 11-page ruling, Ward pointed to deaths of Black men during.
New York judge reverses firing of officer who fought colleague over chokehold msn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from msn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
A Black former police officer in the Buffalo Police Department who was fired in 2008 after she stopped a white cop from choking a Black man two years earlier will get her pension after winning her lawsuit Tuesday, according to the New York Times.
By April Siese
April 14, 2021 / 4:32 AM / CBS News
A former Buffalo Police officer who said she was fired for intervening when a White officer attempted to choke a Black suspect will receive her pension after winning a lawsuit on Tuesday. The New York State Supreme Court vacated a previous ruling upholding the firing of Cariol Horne, CBS Buffalo affiliate WIVB reports.
In his ruling, Judge Dennis Ward wrote that the City of Buffalo has recognized the error and has acknowledged the need to undo an injustice from the past. The legal system can at the very least be the mechanism to help justice prevail, even if belatedly.
Cariol Horne has become an advocate of police reform since her termination from the Buffalo Police Department.
Credit Nick Lippa / WBFO News
State Supreme Court Judge Dennis Ward issued a decision that overturned a previous court ruling that upheld her firing almost 13 years ago.
Horne had been dismissed after a November 2006 incident in which she has maintained she tried to stop fellow officer Greg Kwiatkowski from choking a man during an arrest. The two officers started fighting and an internal investigation cleared Kwiatkowski.
In 2008, an arbitrator found Horne guilty on 11 of 13 internal charges. She was fired, a year shy of the 20 years of service needed for a full police pension.