The City of Lawton has exhausted its run through the state courts in its fight over two fired police officers. On Monday, the Oklahoma Supreme Court denied the city’s petition for a writ of certiorari by a 7-4 vote, leaving in place a March ruling from the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals that ordered an arbitration award reinstated for Nathan Michael Ronan and Robert Leslie Hinkle, both 34. The officers were fired in January 2022 for violating the department’s use of force policy following the December 2021 shooting death of 29-year-old Quadry Malike Sanders.
At the center of this for many residents is the price tag. If back pay is awarded to the date of firing, the cost to the city could approach $900,000. That’s taxpayer money going out the door while both officers still face felony manslaughter charges in connection with Sanders’death. The city had argued that the arbitrator improperly relied on the Graham v. Connor standard in an administrative disciplinary proceeding, and that the officers’response to the petition was untimely. The high court declined to take up either argument.
Yet the practical outcome remains murky. City Manager John Ratliff said the officers will not return to the department because of policy violations and will be placed on administrative leave without pay due to the pending criminal cases. That leaves a court decision and a city position that don’t quite meet in the middle, with the Comanche County community watching how both play out. Where do you land on this one?
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Local Lawton
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