ST. LOUIS (AP) — A report obtained by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch offers insight into why the city’s Civil Service Commission reinstated a fired police captain who altered a police report.

Ryan Cousins, who is black, alleged in a lawsuit that race played a role in his 2016 firing. The commission ruled last month that his actions were worthy of only a reprimand.

Cousins was fired after an investigation in which a black resident was suspected of shooting at would-be burglars. Cousins was accused of freeing the man and ordering reports to be altered.

The 14-page opinion overturning the firing agreed with Cousins’ attorneys’ claim that the discipline was harsh compared with that of white officers involved in unrelated internal investigations.
___
Information from: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, http://www.stltoday.com