FORT WORTH (1080 KRLD) - A Fort Worth police officer who was terminated for using excessive force in 2017 has been reinstated after an appeal.
According to reports, Officer Kenneth Pierce ordered a rookie officer to use his taser on a woman who had called 911, worried her boyfriend might hurt her.
Police Chief Joel Fitzgerald fired Pierce for violating the department's "use of force" policy. Fitzgerald says Pierce became "impatient" with Dorshay Morris.
Pierce appealed his termination, and he was reinstated after a hearing Wednesday morning. Pierce's lawyer, a lawyer for the city and an arbitrator reached the agreement.
Pierce received a 35 day suspension for "failure to supervise." He will receive back pay for the rest of the time he missed.
"I am happy with the results. That's really all I can say," says Pierce's lawyer, Terry Daffron. "I think the right thing was done."
Morris attended the hearing and spoke with media afterward with supporters standing behind her holding signs reading, "Justice for Dorshay" and "Hold police accountable."
"There's no justice being done," Morris said. "He doesn't deserve his job back."
Her lawyer says Morris was only tazed because of her race.
"We have seen time and time-again where Fort Worth has decided to use excessive force and then they'll do a slap on the wrist and say, 'It's okay. We did something,'" Jasmine Crockett said.
Pierce has been with Fort Worth police 22 years. He will go through any training he missed over the past year and then get his next assignment.
Just got clarification — Sgt. Pierce's suspension will be retroactive, meaning he is eligible to return to FWPD immediately.His attorney expects he should be back to work within the next several days. #NBCDFWNow
— Tim Ciesco (@TimCiescoNBC5) January 30, 2019
