DALLAS, Texas (PNN) - May 17, 2010 - An administrative law judge has overturned the dismissal of a Dallas police officer who was fired last year after internal investigators found that he violated numerous department policies, including using inappropriate force on a motorist.

Judge Kimberly Lonergan instead imposed a 30-day suspension on Officer Robert Ramsey, 31. She also ordered that he attend any training that the department finds necessary and sign a "last chance warning letter."

"He will be subject to immediate dismissal if it is determined that he engages in similar misconduct," Lonergan wrote in her three-page ruling, which was unusual in that administrative law judges rarely offer any reasoning for their ruling.

It was the first time in recent history that an administrative law judge has overturned the firing of a Dallas police officer.

"We are pleased with the outcome and think that Officer Ramsey will be able to get back to providing some good service to the citizens of Dallas," said Chris Livingston, an attorney representing Ramsey.

In Ramsey's case, another officer had told investigators that he thought Ramsey's actions were excessive when he pulled a motorist from his vehicle, put him on the ground and handcuffed him in March 2008.

Lonergan threw out the excessive force finding, concluding that the other officer "was not a strong witness.

"His demeanor on the stand and failure to testify unequivocally as to the excessive force charge, frankly, reflects poorly on his integrity as a witness," she wrote.

Investigators also had concluded that Ramsey issued three citations to a man without the man's knowledge in February 2008.

A review of Ramsey's day-to-day ticketing practices found that he inappropriately wrote citations for offenses that he didn't see, and that he made conflicting statements to investigators.

Lonergan concluded that Ramsey did mishandle citations and stops, and wrote that she did not find Ramsey to be "completely forthright in his responses concerning the details of the stops and citations in question."

Ramsey joined the department in 2006.