Washington Officer Barry Hudson has been on leave since early 2012.
A Washington Police Officer, who has been on unpaid administrative leave for almost five years, can now return to work. The Washington Board of Public Works and Safety rescinded the leave of Officer Barry Hudson in a unanimous vote last night.
The leave was put in affect in connection with an incident on Christmas Eve of 2011. Officer Hudson and Officer Steve Mize responded to call at the Our Lady of Hope Catholic Church in Washington of someone inside the church. They located a suspect who became belligerent with officers and at one point threatened Officer Hudson’s life. The suspect was taken into custody and to jail. As the suspect was being removed from the police car, Officer Hudson pushed the suspect down in response to what he felt was an attack toward him. The suspect sustained a head injury.
The incoming police chief at the time, Mike Healy, was informed and Hudson was then placed on five days leave pending an inquiry by the city’s incoming mayor and Board of Public Works. Before the board could take action, the prosecutor’s office in Martin County was assigned as special prosecutor and after an investigation by the office and state policed criminal charges were filed against Hudson. Hudson was then placed on the unpaid leave on February 20th 2012. That’s when Martin County dismissed the case to the US Department of Justice which held the case until late 2015 and declined to proceed. The case was then remanded back to the Martin County Prosecutor’s Office which re-filed the criminal charges. However, last week, the office dismissed the case. In a Washington City Police news release, it says it was never the city’s intent to terminate Hudson and upon agreement and understanding of all parties, Hudson will be allowed to return to work.
