US FL: Arbitrator: Fired Investigator Should Get Job Back

3/14/2010

ARBITRATOR: FIRED INVESTIGATOR SHOULD GET JOB BACK

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - An investigator who was fired in the wake of a bungled drug case might return to the Tallahassee Police Department.

Arbitrator Christopher Shulman has decided that former investigator Ryan Pender should be reinstated to the police force, according to the Tallahassee Democrat. Pender was fired for his role in a botched drug sting that led to the death of Rachel Hoffman, a young informant. He was the only Tallahassee officer who was fired because of Hoffman's death.

Shulman ruled that Pender shouldn't have lost his job because the department didn't have proper procedures in place for working with informants.

"I am not exonerating ( Pender ) for the lapses in judgment the record suggests he made related to his selection and employment of Ms. Hoffman as a CI," Shulman wrote. "It is thelack of procedures at the time, and the approval of the operational plan by his superiors, which prevent a finding of proper cause for discipline."

Hoffman, a Florida State University graduate who was recruited by police as an informant after being caught with drugs, was killed in a May 2008 operation. She was shot five times after police lost track of her during a drug deal.

"It's really no surprise," Hoffman's father, Irv, said of the arbitator's decision. "Rachel's mother and I have no control over that, and we know that the only place Ryan Pender and the Tallahassee Police Department will ever be held accountable for our daughter's death is in the civil courts. We hold them all accountable."

Police Chief Dennis Jones said he still believes he made the right decision by firing Pender. Pender's attorney, Paul Villeneuve, said he "always had confidence" that his client hadn't done anything wrong.

"We are exceptionally grateful that Investigator Pender can close this chapter of his life," Villeneuve said. "We are sure that the department will welcome his return as he has always been a valuable asset to their organization."

Shulman's decision is being reviewed by city officials.

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