OAKLAND — A police officer fired for throwing a tear gas grenade into a crowd of Occupy Oakland protesters who were tending to a wounded comrade is getting his job back.
An arbitrator on Wednesday overturned the Police Department’s termination of Officer Robert Roche and ordered him reinstated with back pay.
Roche became the lightning rod over police handling of the 2011 Occupy protests when he was caught on camera tossing the grenade into a crowd of protesters trying to assist Iraq War veteran Scott Olsen.
The grenade incident came less than a minute after a police officer who has never been identified struck Olsen in the head with a lead-filled beanbag, fracturing Olsen’s skull and causing him permanent brain damage. Olsen received a $4.5 million settlement from the city earlier this year.
The incident, which made international headlines, turned many citizens against the Police Department and turned many officers against their commanders, who they felt had left them far too understaffed to deal with a major protest.
“Roche is a phenomenal police officer, and he was scapegoated like all the other officers from the Occupy experience,” said Sgt. Barry Donelan, who heads the police union.
Rachel Lederman, who represented Olsen, said she was stunned by the arbitrator’s ruling.
“It really gives you pause that he would be reinstated when you have such a blatant case of police misconduct that is caught on video and publicized all over the world,” she said. “It points out that there is still an endemic problem in OPD when it comes to trying to impose any kind of discipline even in a case like this where the evidence is so clear.”
Roche was placed on paid leave after the October 2011 incident and was fired last August for having tossed the grenade, his attorney said. Like many Oakland officers, he exercised his right to appeal his punishment to an independent arbitrator and prevailed.
Of the last 15 arbitration cases in which officers have appealed punishments, the punishments have been revoked in seven cases and reduced in five others dating back two years. The city prevailed in only three cases, according to a report from the City Attorney’s Office.
Attorneys for the city and Roche refused to release arbitrator David Stiteler’s ruling, which they said involved a private personnel issue.
Roche’s attorney, Justin Buffington, said the arbitrator determined that Roche was following orders when he deployed the baseball-sized weapon, which makes a loud sound, emits a flash of light and releases a gas irritant designed to disperse crowds.
Buffington also said the arbitrator determined that Roche could not have controlled where the grenade landed; that Roche was unaware Olsen was injured on the ground in front of him; and that, unlike the lead beanbag, the grenade blast didn’t cause injuries.
Police spokeswoman Johnna Watson said the “department will abide by the decision”
Lederman, who has not seen the ruling, replied that there was no specific order for Roche to throw the grenade when he did. “Nobody ordered Roche to throw the explosive grenade at Scott Olsen when Scott Olsen was injured on the ground,” she said. Lederman also said department guidelines require officers to look for injured people on the ground before they deploy weapons. “The fact that no one was badly hurt by the grenade blast in this incident was just a matter of luck,” she said.
Olsen was injured during a mass nighttime protest following the eviction of an Occupy encampment that morning outside City Hall. Department leaders were criticized in follow-up studies for failing to anticipate the protest and not assigning enough officers to deal with the crowds.
Roche was the only officer fired in connection with an Occupy protest. Buffington said Roche took the fall for the department’s failure to adequately prepare for the protest.
“(Roche) was clearly the soap that the OPD command staff used to wash themselves clean of their sins,” Buffington said.
Police could not determine who fired the lead-filled beanbag that fractured Olsen’s skull. They originally identified Roche as the most likely shooter but last year presented evidence that disputed the allegations, according to court papers.
Roche, who served on high-risk units, has been involved in three fatal shootings during his career in Oakland. He also won two medals of valor, Buffington said.
Buffington didn’t know how much back pay Roche would receive, but he said the officer felt bad about the incident and was ready to rejoin the department.
“He is enthusiastic,” Buffington said. “He is excited to get back to work.”