Fired police officer to learn whether he'll get his job back

MILWAUKEE -- Fired Milwaukee Police Officer Richard Schoen will learn on Monday, December 3rd whether he'll get his job back. Schoen was fired earlier this year for allegedly punching a female suspect in the head. On Tuesday, November 27th Schoen went before the Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission to get his firing overturned. 

Dashcam video from September 2011 shows Schoen punching a female suspect several times, dragging her out of a squad car by her hair and sliding her into a trash can on the floor of a police district garage. 

Police Chief Ed Flynn fired Schoen in May, but the former officer is appealing that firing.

"I wish the chief to know my motivations weren`t out of loss of control. I was simply reacting to be what I perceived was a threat at the time," Schoen said.

Milwaukee's Fire and Police Commission heard eight hours of testimony on Wednesday, November 28th. It is an appeals process that has fared well for other fired police officers. Of five terminated officers who have appealed in person before the board this year, three of them got their job back.

Stan Stojkovic is a criminology expert with UW-Milwaukee. He says he's not surprised over have of these appeals cases have favored the officers.

"Often times, not always, but often times, if the person gets their job back we may have violated our policies and procedures. How we came to a determination that termination was the appropriate response -- we may have actually overstepped our bounds," Stojkovic said.

Whether Schoen will soon be back on the job is up to three commissioners, who have a big decision to make. 

"They have to weigh a lot of different concerns, and a lot of different considerations," Stojkovic said.

During Wednesday's hearing, police experts were split as to whether Schoen was acting based on his emotions, or simply the training he received.

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