Racine officer on paid leave for more than 2 years

RACINE, Wis. (AP) — A police officer in southeast Wisconsin has been on paid leave for more than 2 years after he was accused of using excessive force while arresting a high school student.

A hearing for Racine Police Department Officer Brinelle Nabors has been delayed due to a recommendation from the U.S. Department of Justice to prevent separate investigations from overlapping, according to Racine Police and Fire Commission officials. The 37-year-old officer has been paid more than $160,000 since being put on leave in December 2015.

The family of the Park High School student involved in the incident filed a formal citizen complaint against Nabors with the Police Department in 2015, The Journal Times reported. The department’s investigation is still open, said family attorney Amy Scarr.

“(The family) felt that this officer probably shouldn’t be working in schools and probably shouldn’t be a police officer,” she said. “They considered this a kind of child abuse, for an officer to abuse his power like that.”

The family isn’t satisfied that the investigation hasn’t been concluded, Scarr said. The department doesn’t have a legal time limit for how long it has until it closes an internal investigation. Suspensions also don’t have a maximum length.

Nabors faces criminal charges and the family’s complaint with the department, according to police officials. A jury trial for the case is scheduled to begin Aug. 28.