Ann Goering recently won an arbitration on behalf of Becker County involving the termination of a long-term deputy with only minor prior discipline. The deputy had challenged an unarmed civilian to fight while he was on-duty and in uniform when responding to a civil complaint, and used verbally abusive and profane language towards the individual. The decision was only the third case decided under the new procedure for appointing arbitrators for the discipline of law enforcement officers. The issue in the case was whether the County had just cause to discharge a deputy, rather than imposing a lesser penalty. The arbitrator ruled in favor of the County, deciding that the deputy’s conduct was inherently dangerous and gave the County sufficient grounds for termination. The decision can be found here.