Arbitrator Reinstates San Jose Cop Fired for Misconduct

A San Jose (Calif.) Police officer who was fired last year for mishandling sex crime cases has been reinstated with full back pay by an arbitrator, because the department failed to meet a legal deadline.

Officer Matty Hrncir, 34, earned her job back, because no punitive action can be taken against an officer if an investigation isn't completed within a year of an official discovering the misconduct, reports the Silicon Valley Mercury News .

An internal investigation examined nearly 200 sex crime cases Hrncir investigated between March 2006 and February 2008. Thirty-six were reinvestigated, resulting in charges in seven cases, and an investigator recommended two allegations be sent to superiors as possible violations of departmental procedures and conduct unbecoming of an officer.