Seattle Police Officer Garth Haynes, who used excessive force when he stepped on the head of a handcuffed man outside a Ballard nightclub on Dec. 12, 2010, will not be getting a suspension.

Instead, Police Chief John Diaz gave him more of a verbal reprimand, saying as long as Haynes stays out of similar trouble for the next two years, Diaz will withhold the 10-day suspension. The Office of Professional Accountability concluded that Haynes used unnecessary force during the fight and referred, according to the Seattle Times, that he get retraining.

Haynes was off duty when he got into a fight outside of the Ballard nightclub, BalMar. He had chased down a woman who he believed stole his coat and -- the details on who instigated are fuzzy -- got into a scuffle with three men. Haynes had one victim, Jake Baijot-Clary, facedown on the ground and handcuffed when he kicked him in the head.

There was some controversy as to whether the three men, all white, had thrown racial slurs and did not listen to Haynes because he was black. Allegedly, Baijot-Clary had called Haynes a "spook," which can either be a racial slur or a term for "spy," referencing Haynes' being in plainclothes. However, through the investigation SPD Capt. Tag Gleason concluded that Haynes did not even hear the term, according to the Seattle Times.

In June of 2011, Haynes was charged with a misdeameanor assault, but on March 21 of 2012, he was acquitted of the crime by a jury.