The town of Medley denied a police officer’s appeal to get his job back after he was accused of a traffic accident cover-up and fired last September.

Joseph Olmedo, a former lieutenant, was fired on Sept. 27 along with officers Freddy Romero and Jorge Perez for allegedly writing false police reports and other misconduct stemming from a 2011 cop-involved crash with a civilian driver.

After the crash, the town asserted that the officers pinned the blame on the other driver, falsely cuffing and arresting him for DUI in the process.

The Medley town council listened to more than 10 hours of testimony over the course of two days at town hall before voting 5 – 0 to uphold Olmedo’s firing.

On Oct. 16, the Herald reported that the three officers filed a lawsuit against Medley because the police chief fired them “without any power to do so under the town charter,” records show.

The officers have asserted that only the town council has the authority to terminate them and point to a collective bargaining agreement between Medley and the police union.

But the police chief has called the officers’ allegations baseless.

“They were terminated after an independent investigation by another city and based on the surveillance video which is not consistent with their reports,” wrote Police Chief Medley Chief Jeanette Said Jinete in an email to the Herald after the case was filed. “The facts and the video speak for themselves.”

Said Jinete added that any other allegations are simply attempts to divert attention from the officers’ behavior.