A Coachella Valley sheriff’s deputy who was fired two years ago because he did not call an ambulance for a sickly, suffering man should get his job back and at least $180,000 in back pay, according to a new court order from a county judge.

However, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department is adamant it does not want to rehire the deputy. Agency leaders are considering a difficult appeal to a higher court to keep him off the force.

“The department is absolutely outraged by the ruling,” said sheriff’s attorney Anthony Snodgrass. “It really does not want Mark Franks back as an employee.”

Franks, 40, worked as a deputy for eight years, mostly in Palm Desert, before he was fired for not providing medical attention to Curt Nelsen, a sickly man who was found dead several days later. The incident was revealed by The Desert Sun last summer after Franks' work history was made public in court filings.

FIRST STORY: Palm Desert cop fired for not helping a suffering man

Franks encountered Nelsen on Sept. 3, 2014, when responding to a report of trespassing at a Dollar Tree on Washington Street in Palm Desert. Nelsen appeared disoriented, so Franks drove him home to a two-story apartment building across the street.

When they got to the apartment, Nelsen’s condition had worsened. He complained of pain in his back and legs, and was no longer able to stand. Nelsen crawled out of Franks' patrol car on his hands and knees, then started to scoot towards the door to his apartment, about 100 feet away.

It took Nelsen at least 45 minutes to cover that distance, according to police records. Franks stood by while Nelsen scooted down a concrete pathway to his front door, but did not call for medics or an ambulance. Franks claims that he repeatedly offered to call medical aid for Nelsen, but witnesses described the deputy's actions differently, saying he repeatedly threatening Nelsen with arrest if he did not get inside.

The sheriff's department insists Franks should have called an ambulance even if Nelsen said he didn't want it.

Eventually, Nelsen made it to his front door and disappeared inside. He was never seen alive again. Less than a week later, an apartment manager found his cold body just inside the front door.

An autopsy would determine Nelsen died of heart disease, worsened by liver failure and chronic alcoholism. Emergency medical attention might have made a difference.

MORE: This cop wanted his ex-girlfriend arrested. Then drugs appeared in her car.

Franks was fired about 11 months later, after an internal investigation found him to be negligent.

“We expect good judgement at every turn,” said Snodgrass, the attorney for the sheriff’s department. “And while we are not saying Franks caused Mr. Nelsen’s death, his actions were certainly not those of a reasonable sheriff’s deputy.”

Franks' attorneys declined to comment on the case because it was still "pending." The Riverside Sheriff's Association, which paid for Franks' attorneys, did not respond to a request for comment.

After Franks was fired, he appealed his termination to an administrative arbitrator, which is an option available to almost all deputies under their union contract. The arbitrator, Jerry Ellner, ruled the discipline was too harsh, saying that Franks should be reinstated and given back pay for all the work he's missed, minus a 30-day suspension.

Normally, Ellner's ruling would have put Franks back on the force right away, but last July the sheriff’s department took an unusual step of petitioning a Riverside County judge to intervene in the case and stop the re-hiring.

That request put the re-hiring on hold for about one year while the judge weighed her decision. Late last month, Judge Irma Poole Asberry declined to intervene, leaving in place Ellner’s decision to reinstate Franks intact.

In her ruling, Asberry did not actually consider Franks' conduct and only reviewed if Ellner overstepped his authority when he reinstated the deputy.

The ruling was a stunning development for Nelsen’s family, who said their first concern was that Franks would once again be responsible for protecting the public.

“We are very disappointed to say the least,” said John Nelsen, Curt’s brother. “In the back of my mind, there was always a doubt that it could happen, but I thought for sure he wouldn’t get his job back.”

Snodgrass said the sheriff’s department has approximately two months to decide if it will appeal Asberry’s decision not to intervene.

“They really do want to fight it all the way,” Snodgrass said. “But in terms of a legal position, I’m not saying it’s impossible, but it is a really very high bar to get this overturned in a Court of Appeals.”

If the department files an appeal, Franks will stay in limbo – not yet rehired – until the case is over. If no appeal is filed, then Franks will re-join the police force and receive at least two years in back pay. According to public salary data, Franks earned about $93,000 a year in base pay and benefits.

Reporter Brett Kelman can be reached by phone at (760) 778-4642, by email at brett.kelman@desertsun.com, or on Twitter @TDSbrettkelman.