The Associated Press
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) - The city’s police department has formally fired a patrol commander after a termination board declined appeals made by his attorney.
Lt. Wendell Hunt, a 17-year department veteran, was served with a notice of termination on Dec. 17 after an internal investigation found he had failed to report information in the murder case of Dr. Brian Stidham.
During a hearing Tuesday hearing, Hunt’s attorney argued the department should not fire Hunt.
A board of three assistant chiefs reviewed the information and determined there was no reason not to go forward with the termination procedure, said Sgt. Carlos Valdez, a police spokesman.
Hunt, 49, may appeal to a civil-service commission. He has been paid administrative leave since Nov. 4.
Hunt was the target of an internal investigation after it surfaced that he had a connection to Dr. Bradley Schwartz, who is accused of hiring a hitman to kill Stidham, a former medical practice associate of Schwartz.
Hunt reportedly had been in a relationship with a female employee of Schwartz at the time of the killing.