The Cincinnati Police Division is examining whether it has any grounds to appeal an arbitrator's ruling that reinstated an officer fired last summer.

        “We believe it is not a good ruling,” Safety Director Kent Ryan said.

        The ruling, sent to the police law department Wednesday by the American Arbitration Association, instructed the division to convert Officer Robert Hill's dismissal to a one-week suspension without pay.

        Television news broadcast a videotape of Officer Hill slamming Robert Wittenberg of Silverton to the ground in a convenience store in Madisonville in September 1999.

        Mr. Wittenberg, then 68, had wandered away from his home, gone into a United Dairy Farmers store and muttered something about someone needing help.

        The arbitrator concluded that Officer Hill acted in an “objectively reasonable manner.” A dispatcher “embellished” the conditions at the scene, relaying to the officer that an intoxicated man was inside threatening to hurt people with a drill and paintbrush.

        “Under the circumstances it was reasonable for the (officer) to conclude it would be necessary to attempt to gain control of the situation,” the report read.

        The report said the officer should be disciplined for:

        • Not notifying the dispatcher when he arrived at the scene.

        • Using profanity and making derogatory comments about citizens of Madisonville during an interview with investigators.

        • Sending an unprofessional computer message to another officer.

        Keith Fangman, president of the Fraternal Order of Police, said the issue of binding arbitration was the city's idea.

        “The fact of the matter is, binding arbitration is just that,” he said. “I don't know what else to say except (Hill) exercised his right to a civil-service appeal.”

        Mr. Ryan said City Manager John Shirey will make the final decision on whether to appeal. “This ruling is so contrary to our opinion of this case that if it (an appeal) is a possibility we're going to take advantage of it,” Mr. Ryan said.

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