LINCOLN, Neb. (KMTV) — A former Nebraska trooper fired over a 2016 deadly chase has returned to work at the state patrol in a new role.
Tim Flick is now back with the agency in a non-enforcement role as part of a settlement between the state troopers' union and the state patrol through the arbitration process.
NSP terminated Flick in December 2017 after an internal investigation, which sustained a finding of "Conduct Unbecoming with respect to dishonesty and the completeness of reports Flick submitted regarding a crash." Two other troopers also left the agency.
Flick's firing had stemmed from his role in the October 2016 high-speed chase of a drunk driver in Sheridan County.
Dashcam videos show Flick saying he used a tactical move to bump the fleeing vehicle so it safely spins out. But the car crashed and rolled, killing a South Dakota man, Antoine LaDeaux, 32.
Flick's attorney provided new information to NSP last year, which led the agency to conduct a supplemental internal investigation, according to a NSP news release.
As a result of the investigation, Colonel John Bolduc determined that changing the disciplinary action against Flick and the findings was appropriate in settling the case.
The internal investigation determined that Trooper Flick’s actions weren't that of intentional dishonesty.
The move reduces the level of discipline.
Since Flick's termination, criminal charges filed against him were dropped. The Nebraska Crime Comission has also taken no action against his law enforcement certification.
Furthermore, a grand jury found no fault with Flick's handling of the events preceding the crash or crash scene.
Trooper Flick was given a 30-day, unpaid suspension, which is the longest possible under the union contract.
He will receive back pay, minus the suspension, which is standard practice.
Trooper Flick is eager to get back to serving the citizens of Nebraska.
In 2017, Governor Pete Ricketts dismissed then NSP Colonel Brad Rice over the state patrol's handling of the investigation into this case.
The state patrol says the new internal investigation in no way changes the outcome for others who received discipline in connection to this case.
