Former Buffalo Officer Vindicated in 15-Year-Old Incident Where She Intervened in Use of Force

A former Buffalo police officer has been vindicated 15 years after she was terminated for forcibly confronting another officer who placed a handcuffed man in a chokehold.                                                             

Cariol Horne, a former Buffalo police officer, was fired, faced departmental charges and left without a pension after the 2006 incident, according to the New York Times .

On Tuesday, the New York Supreme Court vacated an earlier ruling from 2010 that affirmed her firing. Horne is now entitled to back wages, benefits and enough credit to receive her pension, USA Today reports.

In November 2006, Horne, who is black, responded to a call of a colleague in need of help.

While attempting to take a black domestic incident suspect into custody, a struggle ensued and Horne saw the white officer put the black suspect into a chokehold.

When Horne heard the handcuffed man say he couldn't breathe, she forcibly removed the white officer. The officer and Horne were then seen throwing punches at each other in the driveway of Mack's home according to witnesses and police The Buffalo News interviewed at the time of the incident. 

The white officer was cleared of any wrongdoing in the incident and would later go on to successfully sue Horne for defamation, winning a $65,000 judgment.

Horne was reassigned after the altercation and later fired in 2008, one year before the 20-year-mark she needed to receive her full pension.