GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- An appeals board has reversed a decision to exonerate a Grand Rapids police captain involved in controversy after he contacted ICE about a man later learned to be a U.S citizen.

In a split vote, the Grand Rapids Civilian Appeal board voted 6 to 2 to reverse the findings of an Internal Affairs review finished earlier this year.

Grand Rapids police Capt. Curt VanderKooi, a 39-year veteran of the department, was on paid leave from Feb. 28 to late April when he was reinstated without further discipline.

Now, Grand Rapids City Manager Mark Washington will decide whether the 63-year-old VanderKooi should receive additional sanctions.

About 60 people attend the Wednesday, May 15 meeting of the Civilian Appeal Board, including attorneys with the American Civil Liberties Union who sought the reversal. VanderKooi did not attend.

VanderKooi contacted an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Nov. 21 after Grand Rapids resident Jilmar Ramos-Gomez lit a small fire at Spectrum Health Butterworth Hospital and then accessed the hospital helipad.

VanderKooi did not know it at the time, but Ramos-Gomez, 27, was a Marine veteran and U.S. citizen. Ramos-Gomez eventually was detained by ICE for three days in December before an immigration attorney provided citizenship documentation to get his release.

VanderKooi’s actions sparked outrage among some in the community, who accused him of racial profiling.

A police Internal Affairs review, however, found that he did not violate the department’s “impartial policing policy” because he contacted ICE based on a potential terrorist act. The hospital incident, which happened about 8:20 a.m. Nov. 21, initially was deemed a possible terrorism event.

But Civilian Appeals Board members questioned why VanderKooi, who was not on duty that day, did not speak with officers who investigated at the hospital. Ramos-Gomez had a U.S. passport and military dog tags in his backpack, as well as a driver’s license on him.

Board member Russell Olmsted said he was concerned about documents that showed VanderKooi’s email contact with ICE over the past couple of years. He said the emails, numbering more than 80, seemed to show a pattern based on race and ethnicity associated with names.

“It created a pattern around the word ‘status’ and asking for status. And what information was actually given back when status was asked? It was always about immigration status and nothing more," he said.

Board member George Storms said he did not think VanderKooi was entirely truthful during a recorded interview with Internal Affairs investigators. Board members reviewed transcripts of the interview and it showed he denied using race as a determining factor for contacting ICE in the Ramos-Gomez case.

“I found the fact that he went so far to say ‘I didn’t include race in my determination at all.’ I found that to be not credible in the least bit," he said.

Board Chair Huemartin Robinson said he thought VanderKooi, the former police liaison with ICE, was “kind of a rogue initiative” that highlights the need for a police policy surrounding officer contact with ICE.

ACLU attorney Miriam Aukerman was pleased by the ruling.

“Our focus has always been on accountability,” she said. “That fact the board reached this conclusion despite the process shows just how critical the citizen involvement is.”

Grand Rapids police Capt. Geoff Collard, with the Grand Rapids Police Command Officers Association, earlier said the union would fight any attempts to further discipline VanderKooi or force him into retirement.

“We’re going to watch the next steps and we’ll figure it out from there,” he said after watching Wednesday’s meeting. “We’ve been on record that we have significant concerns over the way this entire thing has progressed.”

The Civilian Appeal Board can only review evidence generated from an Internal Affairs report in making a decision. While it can affirm, modify or reverse an Internal Affairs ruling, the board has no power to recommend any discipline.

Assistant City Attorney Kristen Rewa compiled notes Wednesday and plans to write a summary of the board’s findings for submission to the city manager. A special May 22 appeals board meeting has been scheduled to vote on the summary.

Any decision to discipline VanderKooi will be up to City Manger Mark Washington. VanderKooi’s only sanction so far has been a reprimand for using “unprofessional language” by using the term “loco” in an email about Ramos-Gomez.