"I'm so delighted they did this, before he kills someone else's child," Panas Sr. said.
"I lost my only son. It hurts so bad, I can't explain it to nobody. But now, a half a percent of my body is a little bit more happy."
While the news of Tepper's firing buoyed Panas' family, police officials were quick to note that the 43-year-old was not being charged with any criminal wrongdoing.
The decision to charge or not charge Tepper will ultimately be made by a grand jury, which inherited the case last month from then-District Attorney Lynne Abraham.
Abraham said at the time that investigators believe Tepper fired the shot that killed Panas, but were unsure of what happened before, during and after the shooting.
The grand jury, she added, was the best way to ensure public confidence in the investigation.
It's unclear how long the grand jury will take to make a ruling on the case.
The city's new district attorney, Seth Williams, who was sworn in yesterday, also intends to review the case, said his spokeswoman, Tasha Jamerson.
Ramsey said he consulted with the city's Law Department before deciding to fire Tepper, a 16-year veteran most recently assigned to the Civil Affairs Unit.
"We wanted to make sure we didn't do anything to jeopardize the criminal case," Ramsey said last night.
"We were able to conduct the administrative portion of the investigation, and we found that he was in violation of our off-duty policy."
Ramsey said Tepper was cited for three violations: improper use of firearms, failure to cooperate with the investigation, and failure to call 9-1-1 and avoid direct action in a personal matter.
Tepper refused to provide additional information to detectives about the incident, Ramsey said.
"He was served today [Monday] with 30 days' notice," the commissioner added.
