Seattle, WA – A Seattle police officer who was fired in 2016 for a 2014 incident will be reinstated to the police department with full back pay based on the findings of a review panel (video below).

Seattle Police Officer Adley Shepherd was one of three Seattle officers who responded to 911 call about a domestic disturbance on June 22, 2014, KCPQ reported.

As officers talked to the man and woman involved and tried to sort things out, 23-year-old Miyekko Durden-Bosley argued with officers until they put her in handcuffs.

Durden-Bosley struggled with the officers.

When Officer Shepherd tried to put her in the back seat of his patrol unit, she kicked him in the face.

The officer responded by punching Durden-Bosley in the head. She suffered a broken eye socket and concussion as a result of the altercation.

In December of 2014, the King County Prosecutor’s Office determined that Shepherd acted professionally and with restraint toward Durden-Bosley until she kicked him in the head, according to KCPQ.

But despite that finding, when former Seattle Police Chief Kathleen O’Toole took the helm of the police department in 2016, one of the first things she did was fire Officer Shepherd for his conduct in the 2014 incident, according to KCPQ.

“The decision to end one’s employment is not easy, and it is one I take very seriously,” Chief O’Toole said when she terminated Officer Shepherd. “After much deliberation, based on the substantial evidence presented to me during this very comprehensive process, I believe this is the right decision for the Seattle Police Department and the community we serve.”

The city then settled a lawsuit brought by Durden-Bosley against them and Officer Shepherd for $195,000, according to KCPQ.

The review panel that later investigated the case, and which included a civilian, said they thought Chief O’Toole’s firing of Officer Shepherd had been too harsh.

“The civilian arbitrator found that the termination was too severe of discipline and ordered that the termination be dismissed,” The Seattle Police Officers Guild said in a statement, according to KCPQ.

The panel also questioned whether Officer Shepherd’s punishment might have been politically motivated.

The review panel found that instead of firing the officer, a 15-day suspension would have been more appropriate, KCPQ reported.

The panel also said that Officer Shepherd should be reinstated to the Seattle Police Department and given full back pay.

You can see the officers’ altercation with Durden-Bosley at 2:46 in the video below: