Seattle Officer Fired for Punching Handcuffed Woman Can Get Job Back

Officer Adley Shepherd—who was fired in 2016 by former Seattle Police Chief Kathleen O'Toole after he reportedly punched a handcuffed woman—can have his job back following a second investigation into the matter by an independent civilian arbitrator.

According to KOMO-TV , the woman—identified as Miyekko Durden-Bosley—had kicked Shepherd in the face and tried to escape from the patrol car before he struck the woman to get her to stop her assault on him.

"Officer Shepherd, in an attempt to stop the woman from further assaulting him, punched the woman once," the Seattle Police Officers Guild said in a statement.

The arbitrator determined that Shepherd's firing was too harsh a punishment for the incident and declared that the order be rescinded.