Arbitrator Upholds Firing of Cop Who Stood by During Assault

ST. PAUL (AP) — An arbitrator has upheld the firing of a St. Paul police officer accused of standing by during an assault outside a bar.

The arbitrator ruled that 13 of 16 alleged acts of misconduct by Officer Nathan Smith were sufficiently proven.

The ruling means that Smith will not be reinstated on the force. Smith was one of five officers dismissed by St. Paul Police Chief Todd Axtell last summer for not intervening during an unreported attack outside an East Side bar in 2018.

The incident involved a former St. Paul officer who beat another man with a baton outside the bar.