The D.C. police department dropped objections to reinstate a fired policewoman after five years of legal battling and said todaythey will put Angela Fisher back on the force.
D.C. police have fought against Fisher’s reinstatement since 2001—from arbitration to D.C.’s Superior Court to Court of Appeals, and back to Superior Court.
Saying, she was a “little nervous this may not begin,” Superior Court Judge Natalia Combs-Green ordered Fisher’s reinstatement process begin by July 24 and scheduled a July 28 hearing to make sure it was underway.
The District withdrew its latest appeal after a June 29 Court of Appeals hearing ruled in favor of Fisher’s reinstatement.
Fisher, who has suffered through what she calls “instability and hell,” is hesitant to get excited.
“We are wary of the future,” said Harold Vaught, Fisher’s attorney.
The case began when Fisher became involved in a fight with her niece in Prince George’s County in 1998.
Prince George’s dropped domestic dispute charges in 1999, but a D.C. police trial board found her guilty of conduct unbecoming an officer in 2001 which led to her termination.
Attorney General spokeswoman Traci Hughes said the five years of litigation was unfortunate, but that they fully intend to comply with the courts and give Fisher her job back.
“The District has let the legal process run its course, and the end result is that Officer Fisher is being reinstated,” she said.
Combs-Green denied without prejudice a motion to find D.C. police in contempt of court, making its renewal an option if D.C. police do not comply with the reinstatement orders.
