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UNC Police Officer Accepts Old Job, Still Plans...

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CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — A UNC-Chapel Hill police officer whosaid he was fired because he cited a trustee's daughter forunderage drinking has agreed to return to his job.

But Lt. Ed Swain said Thursday that he won't drop his lawsuitcharging the university with retaliation in his Nov. 19 firing.

His decision came a day after Chancellor Michael Hooker saidSwain would be reinstated with back pay but would receive oneweek's suspension without pay for falsifying a time sheet.

Swain contends that he was targeted unfairly because he spokeout about the university's handling of an underage drinking tickethe issued to the daughter of university trustee Billy Armfield.

Swain filed a grievance accusing his superiors of trying to fixthe ticket he issued Sept. 27 to Armfield's daughter. He presentedhis case before a three-member panel Wednesday.

``I'm trying to clear my reputation,'' he said.

Hooker suspended Swain for visiting The Chapel Hill News officesOct. 30 while on duty and not recording the break on his time card.An employee at the paper mentioned the visit to a friend who worksfor the university, and word got back to Swain's boss.

According to a letter released by the university Wednesday,Associate Vice Chancellor Carolyn Elfland told Swain that he wasnot a victim of retaliation, but had deliberately concealed atwo-hour absence while acting as a shift supervisor.

The letter said Swain was given five opportunities to correcthis time sheet but declined.

In her letter, Elfland also noted that Swain had been thesubject of 10 internal-affairs investigations since 1995, the mostof any police department employee.

``I think she was kind of desperate, trying to use whatever shecould to try to distort my reputation,'' Swain said Thursday.

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