Police Officer’s Firing Upheld

The Torrance Civil Service Commission has upheld the dismissal of Timothy Thornton, the police officer fired last year for allegedly lying about the accidental shooting of an unarmed man.

Thornton is expected to appeal the decision to the City Council.

Details of the three-day Civil Service Commission hearing, which ended last week, are not available because Thornton’s hearing was closed to the public and to the press. In the past, disciplinary hearings concerning all city employees have been held in public.

Thornton’s firing stemmed from the shooting last May 9 of construction worker Patrick Coyle by Officer Timothy Pappas.

Pappas accidentally shot Coyle and then lied to superiors to make it appear that Coyle provoked the shooting when he moved suddenly on his motorcycle, according to court papers filed in a related criminal case.

Thornton and Officer Mark Holden, who arrived just before the shooting, joined in the lie to protect Pappas, the district attorney has charged. Holden and Pappas face a preliminary hearing on criminal conspiracy charges May 11 in Los Angeles Municipal Court.

Thornton is expected to receive a grant of immunity in exchange for testifying against the other two, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Christopher Darden.

All three officers were fired by the Torrance Police Department after Thornton revealed the alleged cover-up.