Aurora’s Civil Service Commission has ordered fired police officer James Waselkow, accused of breaking six department policies, including using excessive force, be returned to his job and given back pay.
According to a ruling released this morning Waselkow did not use unreasonable force during the arrest of Carla Meza during a Feb. 12, 2009 domestic-violence call. The panel also determined that there was probable cause for her arrest.
“The evidence presented to us did not justify termination,” commission chairman Dave Williams said this morning in an interview.
The panel ordered Waselkow be docked 160 hours of pay and is requiring additional training “as deemed appropriate by his immediate supervisor.”
Waselkow was accused of kneeing or kicking Meza in the face as she was arrested. Meza suffered a broken orbital bone near her right eye.
Waselkow was fired on June 24, 2010 by Aurora Police Chief Dan Oates, who concluded that Meza had been arrested without a warrant, used physical force causing injury to the woman’s face and eye, failed to properly report his use of such force and failed to properly care for Meza after she was injured. Oates also said Waselkow had failed to fulfill his responsibility for a preliminary investigation and performed unsatisfactorily.
During the hearing, Waselkow said he mistakenly handcuffed Meza because he feared for his safety even though he did not have probable cause at the time to arrest her.
Not believing Meza was severely injured, he did not check on her when she was in a patrol car. Waselkow had placed his hand in her blood on the police cruiser. “I made a mistake,” Waselkow said under oath. “I assumed she had a bloody nose or bloody lip.”
Meza was also wearing a hooded sweatshirt, which did not allow him to get a good look at her face, Waselkow said.
Waselkow said he was grappling with Meza after he handcuffed her at the home of her girlfriend. But if he did knee her in the face, he said, it was unintentional.
In its findings, panel concluded that while it was “troubled” that neither Waselkow nor four other officers on the scene noticed “obvious and serious injuries” to Meza, but said based on evidence presented during the week-long hearing that ended last week, the police officers did not violate department policy regarding her care.
The panel did find that Waselkow failed to report the injuries to Meza, failed to perform responsibilities for preliminary investigation and that he performed his job in an unsatisfactory manner.
