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A Cleveland court on Thursday upheld the re-instatement of Cleveland police detective Vincent Lucarelli, who was fired for sending thousands of sexually explicit text messages to crime victims.

(File photo)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Cleveland detective fired for sending 8,000 sexually explicit text messages to victims of crimes and spending hours at women's homes while he was on duty should get his job back, a court ruled Thursday.

In a 2-1 decision, a panel of Cuyahoga County appeals judges upheld an arbitrator's ruling that reversed the firing of veteran Cleveland police officer Vincent Lucarelli.

It's unclear when Lucarelli will return. The city will decide whether to appeal the most recent decision, a spokesman said.

Lucarelli, a 12-year veteran officer who worked as a detective in the Fifth District, was fired after a private investigator uncovered the sexually explicit texts.

An internal investigation found that Lucarelli sent sexually explicit messages to seven women, including six who were crime victims and two whose cases were open at the time, according to records.

Arbitrator Gary W. Spring found that there was a "mountain of misconduct" that warranted harsh punishment. But, Spring said, the city failed to take into account mitigating factors, including statements from fellow cops who praised Lucarelli.

Spring also noted that none of the women filed formal complaints about Lucarelli's advances. One woman said she was intimidated by the text messages "but didn't want anything to jeopardize her case." Spring said that response came after an internal affairs investigator ask her a leading question.

Spring ruled that termination was too harsh. He did not award Lucarelli any back pay, but ordered the city to re-instate him as soon as he is medically cleared for duty.

Spring also wrote that the decision applies only to Lucarelli's case, and should not set a standard in future cases.

The city appealed to a trial court, which found that the arbitrator did not overstep his authority. The city then appealed that decision.

Judge Eileen A. Gallagher, the panel's presiding judge, wrote for the two-judge majority that, while Lucarelli's behavior was "unbecoming of an officer -- to say the very least," the arbitrator did not overstep his bounds, and the court upheld his re-instatement.

In a blistering dissent, Judge Timothy McCormack blasted the arbitrator's decision as "a stagnant pool of rancid, stenchful waste."

"The arbitrator's decision stands for the on-the-street reality that when a woman is victimized by violent crime in Cleveland, and reports it, she may also risk becoming sexual prey of a responder who, instead of protecting the injured, pursues sexual conquest," McCormack said.

McCormack argued that the arbitrator went too far in overturning Lucarelli's firing based on mitigating factors. McCormack wrote that, just because none of the women filed a complaint, that doesn't mean they weren't intimidated. Many women do not report sexual harassment or sexual assault out of fear and intimidation.

"We have far too much respect for police officers to embrace and facilitate the adoption of the despicable standard this arbitration decision represents to all 1,500 of them," McCormack wrote.