Officer Involved In Amadou Diallo Shooting To Be Promoted To Sergeant

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- One of the NYPD officers who was involved in the shooting that killed Amadu Diallo in the Bronx is getting a promotion.

Officer Kenneth Boss, 44, was set to get a bump-up to sergeant on Thursday, CBS2 reported.

Police told CBS2 that Boss passed the sergeants' test --which is a civil service exam -- and has no pending disciplinary issues.

In February 1999, Boss fired five of the 41 shots that killed the unarmed 24-year-old immigrant -- who officers mistook for a rape suspect. Officers opened fire on Diallo as he reached for what they thought was a gun. He was reaching for his wallet.

Boss and the other officers were cleared of criminal charges.

He is the only one of the four officers still on the force; one retired and the other two became firefighters.

In 2006, Boss took a leave from the NYPD to serve in Iraq for seven months with the Marines. He earned a medal for exemplary service.

Boss' service weapon was returned in October 2002. Then-police Commissioner Ray Kelly authorized the return of Boss' gun even after the courts rejected Boss' lawsuits to get it back.