Once Fired Police Officer Connected to Cadet's Death

An Oklahoma City police officer once fired for kicking a
handcuffed suspect
in the head is the officer involved in the final training of
police cadet
Kelley Chase.  Police Chief
Bill Citty
confirmed to Fox 25 Sgt. John Blumenthal was involved in the final
maneuver
that ended with Cadet Chase falling and hitting his head on a mat.  Chase died later at the
hospital. 

Blumenthal pleaded guilty to assault and battery in 2008
after an internal
police investigation found that he kicked a homeless man in the
face after the
man was handcuffed.  The
investigation also
found Blumenthal falsified information during another drug arrest. 

As part of a deal with prosecutors Blumenthal pleaded
guilty to assault
and battery, a misdemeanor, in exchange for a 90-day suspended
sentence. 

Police Chief Citty fired Blumenthal following the
investigation, but
the firing went to arbitration.  An
arbitrator
reinstated Blumenthal.  Chief
Citty says
the ruling required him to be put back to the same duties he had
before the
firing.  One of those
duties was as a
training officer. 

Sources tell Fox 25 the police training class may have
been more
aggressive than necessary towards Cadet Chase. 
“I don't see it from the video,” Citty told Fox 25,
“Of course all I
have is the video from the six minute testing process, and it
didn't seem
overly aggressive to me at all.”

Former police officers have expressed concerns about
Blumenthal being involved
in training new police officer after his conviction.  “It wouldn't
surprise me if
they were concerned about Blumenthal being back at work at all,
much less
training,” Citty said.  However
the
police chief says he was bound by the arbitrator’s ruling to
return the officer
to full status.

A former attorney for Blumenthal told Fox 25 the
original assault
case was exaggerated and that only one of the five officers who
witnessed the
assault thought Blumenthal did anything wrong. 
He added that an internal board of review cleared him
prior to the Chief’s
decision to fire him. 

The attorney says Blumenthal was one of four
training officers who
were involved in the exercise when Chase died. 
He says Blumenthal just happened to be the last one to
have contact with
him.  The attorney says
Blumenthal was
once hired by the US State Department to conduct training and
says it is likely
the medical examiner’s report will show a pre-existing condition
may be
ultimately responsible for Chase’s death. 
Once Fired Police Officer Connected to Cadet's Death

Posted: Thursday, October 25 2012, 09:42 PM CDT