Fired Philly police officers reinstated in arbitration years later

Driving the news: The latest batch of Philadelphia officers ordered reinstated had their arbitration decisions released on Jan. 25.

• Arbitrators reduced firings to suspensions for four officers, mandating they retain their jobs, get back pay and that they be "made whole in all other respects," per grievance arbitration records.

The big picture: Only one dismissal — that of former officer Novice Sloan, who had been accused of filming himself sexually assaulting a woman in 2019 — was upheld.

• Prosecutors dismissed Sloan's case in 2020 because of a lack of evidence, but arbitrator Thomas Leonard ruled the city still had "substantial evidence" that Sloan took advantage of an intoxicated woman.
• Sloan's attorney didn't respond to Axios' messages seeking comment.

Of note: The city hasn't said how much back pay the officers will receive, but they're not owed compensation for the time they're suspended.

• Plus, any outside income they received while sidelined is subtracted from their payouts, city spokesperson Ava Schwemler tells Axios. The city has three months to pay the officers after they provide documentation showing any outside earned income they received.

By the numbers: At least 83 disciplinary cases are pending in arbitration, Schwemler tells Axios.

• The city didn't say how long it'd take to dispose of the backlog of cases.

Zoom out: Legal experts say many police disciplinary appeal systems enable arbitrators to make final decisions on outcomes, a longstanding problem involving high-profile cases across the country that has eroded public trust in officers being held accountable.

• In 2017, the Washington Post reported that nearly a quarter of more than 1,880 officers who were fired at the nation's largest police departments were reinstated through appeals.
• In Philadelphia, a 2019 Inquirer analysis found that the union successfully got discipline overturned or reduced about 70% of the time in cases between 2011 and 2019.

How it works: While state law requires binding arbitration to settle disputes between the city and the police union, legal experts tell Axios that the process is flawed because it gives outsized power to a single individual whose livelihood can depend on how they rule in cases.

• City attorneys must prove all seven factors of just cause, including that the investigation was fair, the punishment fit the offense and that the officer's employment record was considered. Arbitrators can change or reduce the discipline if they're not convinced the city proved each factor.
• Despite adopting reforms in 2021 meant to ensure more fairness in the disciplinary system, the police union and city have a say in appointing arbitrators to hear cases and can also have them removed.
• If arbitrators are removed, they cannot return to the rotation for two years.

What they're saying: "There's always a temptation [for arbitrators] to split the baby in these proceedings," attorney David Rudovsky, a senior fellow at Penn Law, tells Axios.

• In an article reviewing police union contracts, law professor Stephen Rushin wrote that arbitrators can feel "compelled to frequently reduce the termination of unfit officers to mere suspensions."

The other side: Philadelphia police recently underwent an independent review, including internal affairs, "to identify areas where we excel, pinpoint opportunities for improvement, and ensure we are aligned with the highest standards in law enforcement," police spokesperson Sgt. Eric Gripp tells Axios.

• The mayor's office didn't respond to a request for comment. The police union declined to comment.

Zoom in: Those reinstated include Sgt. Joseph Przepiorka, who was among hundreds of officers accused by the Plain View Project in 2019 of making racist and offensive Facebook posts including ones targeting Blacks and Muslims in a city where 43% of residents are Black.

• The city called Przepiorka one of the worst offenders, with nearly 100 of his posts appearing in the database, per the decision.
• Arbitrator Robert Gifford called the posts "demeaning and disparaging" but reduced the firing to a 30-day unpaid suspension because discipline should be "progressive and corrective, rather than punitive, in nature."

Officer Eddie Garro-Garcia had his firing reduced to a 45-day suspension after he admitted to flirting and making comments to a woman while on duty in 2021 that she interpreted as a request for oral sex.

• The woman died before she could testify at the arbitration hearing, per the decision. Without the testimony, Gifford was uncomfortable concluding Garro-Garcia asked for oral sex.

Lt. Anthony McFadden, whose firing was widely covered in 2022, had his dismissal reduced to a 30-day suspension.

• He must also appear before the police commissioner, a police dispatcher and the Citizens Police Oversight Commission to apologize for using the N-word on a recorded line.
• Mayor Cherelle Parker, then a council member, said in 2022 that the department should have "zero tolerance" for McFadden's use of the racial slur.
• This is at least McFadden's second 30-day suspension for misconduct. His name appeared on a do-not-call witness list released by prosecutors in 2018.
• The year before, he admitted lying during an internal affairs investigation, sending inappropriate sexual texts to a prostitute, drinking alcohol on duty and driving a city car after drinking alcohol, per the Inquirer.