City Hall to Host Hearing for Fired Officer

Two days of hearings are scheduled to take place this week at  regarding former police officer Richard Pierce Jr.'s appeal of his 2011 dismissal from the department for alleged use of a Taser during an arrest. Pierce's father, Richard Pierce, was  as police chief in 2010 because of his interference in the investigation of his son, .

State Civil Service Commissioner Paul M. Stein will oversee the hearings on Tuesday and Thursday at 10 a.m. They are not open to the public unless Pierce requests them to be. The entire five-member commission will vote on the appeal and issue a written decision, which will become a public document, later this year.

The commission's decision can be appealed to the state Superior Court.

Pierce was fired in February 2011 following an investigation about a 2010 arrest in which he allegedly used a Taser on a suspect. Police union attorney Leigh Panettiere issued a written statement to the media the next month stating, "Once we have had the opportunity to present his case to an impartial hearing officer, Officer Pierce will be vindicated and returned to work."