BELDING, Mich. (WZZM) -- After several months off the job, Officer Jason Cooper is again serving the Belding Police Department.
Our partner the Daily News reports Cooper, with help from the Police Officers Labor Council, argued that it was excessive for him to be fired following an October 2013, off-duty altercation outside the Grattan Irish Pub. Cooper got into a fight with someone who used a racial slur toward him, and during the fight, Cooper indirectly struck a pregnant woman who was trying to calm the situation.
The arbitrator agreed the punishment was excessive, and the ruling in Cooper's favor means he's to receive all of his back pay, except for an eight-day suspension.
During the seven months Cooper was away from the department, many residents showed their support for reinstating him.
