Brent Raban, PBSO deputy some call 'the punisher,' gets his job back

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - A Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office deputy vilified for his behavior and eventually fired from his job should get his job back, an arbitrator has decided.

Brent Raban, the deputy some called "the punisher," may return to work as early as this month.

"Whether you like Raban or not he should not have been terminated," said John Kazanjian, president of the Palm Beach County Police Benevolent Association.

Kazanjian said Raban was fired after a neighbor filed a complaint against him.

Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw, Kazanjian said, did not let Raban contest the firing.

So, Raban went to court.

An arbitrator stepped in and, after two years, gave him back his $70,000-a-year job.

Before he was fired, Raban had been demoted for posts he made to his Facebook account.

Raban posted a photograph of himself wearing a skullcap with the word punishment on it and, in a post, wrote "Like a good batterer, I know the areas that hide the marks well."

"They apprehended a lot of individuals that were doing some violent crimes. But, they took it to an extent -- to the extreme -- where they shouldn't have," Kazanjian said. "He was a supervisor of a squad. And, you know, they were close-knit guys. And, they put everything on Facebook."

Raban has told colleagues he is "pleased" with the arbitrator's decision.

Sheriff Bradshaw is said to be weighing whether to appeal the decision.