PAWTUCKET, R.I. -- For want of one day, the city has been thwarted -- again -- in its costly attempt to fire a police officer convicted of exposing himself.
Officer Nichalas Laprade has been suspended with pay since his arrest in November 2010.
The city tried to fire Laprade after his conviction in February 2011, but a disciplinary committee voted to give his job back. The reason: An internal-affairs officer was a day late in filing a list of witnesses and exhibits in the city's case.
On Wednesday, Superior Court Judge Sarah Taft-Carter denied the city's appeal, saying the committee hadn't abused its discretion when it didn't allow an extension or taking "judicial notice" of Laprade's conviction.
Mayor Grebien is deciding whether to proceed to the Rhode Island Supreme Court.