Date Posted:07:29:14 06/20/12 Wed Author: Uncle Sam Subject: Fired cop Rafael Lora seeks return to nypd after manslaughter conviction appeal upheld
AN EX-NYPD cop has applied for reinstatement to the force after the state’s highest court upheld the reversal of his manslaughter conviction for killing an unarmed man, the Daily News has learned.
Rafael Lora was fired in 2009 after a judge found him guilty of the felony charge and sentenced him to one-to-three years in prison.
But two years later, the state Appellate Division tossed out the conviction, ruling Lora was justified in the fatal off-duty shooting of a drunken driver who was dragging him in a May 2007 incident.
“We are looking forward to his being reinstated as a police officer,” said Stuart London, a lawyer for the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association.
London said he has already filed papers with NYPD Deputy Trials Commissioner Martin Karopkin, seeking a fact-finding hearing to resolve the disciplinary charges that the department had lodged against Lora.
A wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of shooting victim Fermin Arzu is still pending against the city.
“I do not believe that it is in the best interest of the public to reinstate him,” the family’s lawyer Sanford Rubenstein told The News.
Cops involved in questionable shootings in which they violated police procedure can be permanently stripped of their service weapons — even after they retire — due to the city’s fear of future liability if the officer fires at someone else.
NYPD spokesman Paul Browne did not respond to a request for comment
