Moments after Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo announced Wednesday that Sgt. Michael Olsen would be fired for a fatal shooting this past summer, Olsen's lawyers filed an appeal.
Within the next 30 days Olsen will be given a date with the Civil Service Commission to plead his case again to try and save his job.
"What I hope to show is that he did his job, he did it right, and that he deserves to be out on the street working," attorney Jason Nassour said.
Police union President George Vanderhule said the process for Olsen was skewed in the 11th hour when a confidential memo about Olsen's case was leaked from the city. He said it was the leak that may have sealed his fate.
"He didn't get a fair shake. Now we'll never know if it was politics that made the final decision or if it was based on his actions that made it," Vanderhule said.
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Olsen appeals firing
The officer fired five months after shooting Kevin Brown outside a nightclub is appealing the decision.
 
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Police Monitor Cliff Brown said the process was fair and worked as it should have.
"This process was transparent and that it was fully and impartially vetted," he said.
Brown said that despite what many think, the confidential memo wasn't leaked. It was made public by accident. He feels Acevedo was careful to have an impartial process for the sake of the community and the message he will send to his new department. Acevedo took office in June.
"When they act in accordance with the law and with policy, he will support them 100 percent. I've heard him say it and believe it to be true," Brown said.
Nassour said he will appeal the case as far as he has to in order to see justice for his client. The miniature trial with Civil Service commissioners could take a week or longer.
