Responding to a 2011 labor complaint filed by Seattle's conservative cop union, today a hearing examiner for the state's Public Employment Relations Commission confirmed that City Attorney Pete Holmes had the authority to terminate a pricey, private contract that named Stafford Frey Cooper the exclusive legal counsel for Seattle cops.

The decision amounts to a stately "go fuck yourself" for the Seattle Police Officer's Guild (SPOG).

Holmes vowed to sever the decades-long contract and move the bulk of legal defense for police officers in-house during his 2009 run for City Attorney. But when Holmes made good on his word and terminated the contract, SPOG responded by filing a labor complaint with the state.

“I am gratified that the PERC examiner upheld my decision to bring much of the police action work in-house,” Holmes said in a statement released today. “The driving force behind the change was, and remains, the city’s austere budget climate. The city is now playing a much more supportive role in policy by having a closer working relationship with the individual officers and the department.”