LAWRENCE — A state civil service hearing officer said Officer Kyle Wilcox shouldn't have been fired last July for police brutality.

There are no photographs or other evidence to prove that Wilcox wore black leather gloves with metal caps on the knuckles while punching prisoner Eusebio Alicea in the face in a police station holding cell on Jan. 6, 2007, hearing officer Mark Ford concluded in his findings released yesterday.

"Based on the testimony of the officers, the lack of further photographic evidence as to injuries, the inconsistent statements of Mr. Alicea and (Xavier) Guzman, the hearing officer finds that the preponderance of the evidence supports a finding that the injuries to Mr. Alicea were sustained at the scene after his flight from police," Ford wrote in his eight-page report.

"The preponderance of the evidence does not support the allegations of Mr. Alicea and Mr. Guzman and does not support a firing of Officer Kyle Wilcox," Ford said.

Guzman was another prisoner in the holding cell who served as a witness.

But Wilcox's possible reinstatement to his job on the police force remains uncertain at this point. He still faces criminal charges in connection with an unrelated brutality case.

Brothers Moises and Rubenito Fernandez accused Wilcox of beating them after their December 2006 arrests. The officer faces up to five years in prison if convicted on the assault and battery charges stemming from an assistant clerk magistrate's ruling.

In addition, Wilcox has a pending civil service hearing related to the Fernandez brothers' allegations. Mayor Michael Sullivan suspended Wilcox for 30 days last May, claiming he failed to protect Moises Fernandez, who was arrested after a landlord-tenant dispute on Myrtle Street.

Wilcox, 30, a three-year veteran of the Lawrence police force, could not be reached for comment yesterday. His lawyer, Matthew Dwyer, also could not be reached for comment. Wilcox has been on paid administrative leave since May 9, 2007, and has collected a paycheck while his case was under appeal.

Lawrence police Chief John Romero disagrees with the decision and said Wilcox will remain on paid leave while the department continues its review of the report.

"The hearing officer has spoken and the city will live with that decision," Romero said. "However, I must say I strongly disagree with his findings," he said.

Alicea's allegations resulted in a Police Department internal affairs investigation. Romero recommended that Wilcox be fired based on the department's findings.

Sullivan fired Wilcox in a July 18 letter, accusing him of "willful maltreatment" of a prisoner.

Alicea, of 306 Howard St., said Wilcox punched him in the ribs and kicked him while he was handcuffed inside a Police Department holding room. Alicea's lawyer, in court documents, said that Wilcox used hot water to wash pepper spray out of Alicea's eyes. On that day, Alicea had been arrested and charged with smoking marijuana and running from police.

Romero said that during the investigation of allegations against Wilcox, the department found the reports of the witness to be credible.

"Upon my review of the entire investigation, I felt that it was warranted Officer Wilcox be terminated from his position as a police officer and the mayor concurred with that decision," Romero said.

The charges were subsequently dropped against Alicea.

Wilcox appealed his July 18 firing, his right under the state's civil service law. His challenge was supported by the hearing officer findings that there was not enough photographic evidence of prisoner Alicea's injuries to support a case for police brutality. The report also points to inconsistent statements made by Alicea, 20, and Guzman.

"Mr. Guzman stated in his tape recording that everyone in the area, officers and suspects, could hear Mr. Alicea screaming for mercy," Ford noted in his report.

"Mr. Guzman is the only person who has confirmed said screaming. ... The hearing officer believes that the testimony of all of the officers to be credible that they did not hear any screaming nor witness any beating."