The city has declined to return Swartz to active duty. The White Rose Lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police filed a grievance demanding Swartz be reinstated with full back pay, according to court records. And that s what Tuesday s arbitration hearing was about.
Floyd was killed by then-Officer Derek Chauvin, who placed his knee on Floyd s neck for about 9 minutes in Minneapolis on May 25, 2020. A jury this month convicted Chauvin of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter; sentencing is set for June 25, according to The Associated Press.
Swartz maintains he didn t reenact or make fun of Floyd s death, and a three-officer internal trial board cleared him of that and two related allegations last summer.
More than three months later, a trial board composed of Capt. Matthew Leitzel, Lt. Derrick Millhouse and Detective First Class Scott Nadzom cleared Swartz of all three disciplinary charges against him: unbecoming conduct, use of alcohol off duty and truthfulness. His lawyers attached a copy of the findings as an exhibit to a recent court filing.
Swartz is now asking a judge to put the court proceedings on hold and compel the city to take part in arbitration. He wants the police department to take him off unpaid administrative leave, allow him to return to work and compensate him with back pay.