(AP) A Columbia police officer who was fired for pushing an inmate won’t be rehired even though a judge found him not guilty of assaulting the prisoner.

City Manager Mike Matthes announced Thursday he will not reinstate former officer Rob Sanders.
Surveillance video showed Sanders shoving the unruly inmate in a holding cell in August 2011 before other officers handcuffed him to a railing. The inmate, Kevin Baker, suffered a fractured vertebra and later reached a $250,000 settlement with the city.
Sanders was fired when Police Chief Ken Burton disagreed with an internal affairs report that said the officer acted in line with department policy. Sanders was acquitted of third-degree assault in October of this year.