Officer Loses Bid To Overturn Discipline
Orlando Police Officer Given 24-Hour Suspension
ORLANDO, Fla. -- An Orlando police officer -- already suspended once for pushing a woman down the steps of a nightclub, then charging her with battering him -- is having another suspension upheld by the courts.
VIDEO: Suspension Stands
Fernando Trinidad sued to block OPD from disciplining him after an internal investigation found he left threatening voicemails with an acquaintance of his wife.
He was given a 24-hour suspension without pay for failing to observe the law that prohibits making threatening phone calls.
Trinidad sued the city, claiming the department waited too long -- more than six months -- from the time the complaint was lodged in February 2008 until he was issued the discipline in September of that year.
But Friday, the Fifth District Court of Appeal let stand an Orange County Circuit Court ruling that found the six-month period to complete the investigation did not begin until OPD launched its formal internal investigation in April 2008.
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