Denver7 has learned a Denver Sheriff's deputy fired for excessive force will get his job back after 14 months off the job.
Deputy Thomas Ford was fired last September for punching an inmate in the face. The whole incident was caught on jail surveillance video. It happened in July 2014 at the Downtown Detention Center while Ford was booking the inmate.
When the Department of Safety fired Ford it was seen a step toward reform for the troubled department.
Sources now tell Denver7 reporter Jennifer Kovaleski that Deputy Ford will be reinstated following a lengthy appeals process.
A spokeswoman for the Career Service Board, which oversees discipline for the Sheriff's department, confirms a decision has been made, and on the agenda for a meeting Thursday night, it lists Deputy Ford's case.
It also says, "The Career Service Board ordered reinstatement and modified the penalty to a suspension, written order to follow."
The spokeswoman said the board is set to sign off on the formal written order at tomorrow's meeting.
Depending on the length of Ford's suspension, he could receive back pay for the 14 months he's been off the job - which is normal protocol in these cases.
Deputy Ford testified that the inmate was drunk and using "racially offensive language," prior to the incident. He also claimed the inmate was unrestrained and posed a danger.
Last month, the Career Service Board also overturned the firing of two other deputies, including Deputy William Lewis who was working with Ford at the time and failed to report the punch.
