Officer Rehired After Fatal Shooting

The Oakland police department says it will rehire Officer Hector Jimenez, despite firing him for a 2008 shooting in which he killed an unarmed man that was running away at the time.

The San Jose Mercury News reports that Oakland had to hire Jimenez back as part of an arbitration agreement between Jimenez and the city. The city will also have to pay him back pay.

Jimenez was fired in 2008 after shooting Mack "Jody" Woodfox in the back three times. Woodfox led police on short car chase and then pulled over in the Fruitvale neighborhood. A witness says he got out of the car with his hands up, but Jimenez says Woodfox reached for his waistband and he thought the other officer on the scene was in danger.

The Woodfox shooting was the second time in less than a year that Jimenez shot and killed an unarmed man. In 2007, he and another officer killed Andrew Moppin after a traffic stop. Moppin apparently ran and hid and then shouted and swore at officers.

John Burris is the attorney for Woodfox's family. He says he is asking the DA's office and the U.S. Attorney to look into the cases against Jimenez.

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