Original Article Fired officer loses round to get job back Jim Walsh The Arizona Republic Apr. 28, 2005 12:00 AM CHANDLER - A Chandler police officer fired in the 2002 shooting of an Ahwatukee Foothills mother doesn't deserve to get his job back, the city's Merit Board decided Wednesday in a 5-0 vote. The recommendation came after days of hearings stretched over six months and appears to be the end of the Dan Lovelace saga, although the final decision rests with City Manager Mark Pentz. The board announced the decision late Wednesday without Lovelace's presence after waiting 45 minutes for him. advertisement His attorney, Michael Napier, said Lovelace told him he had no plans to listen to the announcement after spending five hours testifying. "It's very discouraging. He acted like a police officer should," Napier said. The board has seven days to put the decision in writing, and Pentz has five working days after receiving it to reach a final decision. Lovelace, 40, was acquitted last summer of second-degree murder in the shooting of Dawn Rae Nelson, 35, as her toddler sat in the back of her car. He testified Wednesday that he was only trying to protect the public from a suspected impaired driver. A motorcycle officer, Lovelace was answering a call to a Chandler Walgreen's drive-through pharmacy about suspected prescription fraud when he encountered Nelson. He shot her thinking she was about to run him over with her car, he testified. The incident lasted only 3.9 seconds. Now a landscaper, he filed in the fall to get his job back. header header