Commission Upholds Dismissal of 3rd Torrance Officer

Torrance Civil Service commissioners have upheld the dismissal of the third of three police officers who allegedly lied about the accidental shooting of a motorcyclist.

The Civil Service Commission voted 7-0 Wednesday to keep Mark Holden off the force. Commissioners are scheduled to approve written findings on the dismissal at their Feb. 26 meeting, after which Holden will have 10 days to appeal their decision to the City Council.

Holden was fired, along with former officers Timothy Pappas and Tim Thornton, after their alleged cover-up of a 1988 shooting began to unravel. The three officers had reported that Pappas shot motorcyclist Patrick Coyle in self-defense after Coyle reached suddenly for a metal object in his pocket. Coyle was partially paralyzed by the shot and still has the bullet in his skull.

Several months after the May 9 shooting, Thornton told superiors that Coyle did not provoke the shooting and that Pappas’ gun went off accidentally.

Criminal charges have been filed against Holden and Pappas. Pappas pleaded no contest to two misdemeanors. He was fined and sentenced to a year’s probation. Holden’s eight-session Civil Service hearing began Oct. 23. The Civil Service hearings and council appeals for Pappas and Thornton have been completed, with the dismissals of both officers upheld.