EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION: Ex-soldier Files Suit Against Riverside for not Rehiring Him

March 10, 2010

Riverside City - A former soldier who was acquitted on charges of killing four unarmed Iraqi detainees has filed a lawsuit against the city for not rehiring him as a police officer.

In his court-affidavit filed Wednesday, Jose Luis Nazario is seeking more than $4.5 million damages against the police department for allegedly violating a federal law that prohibits discrimination against veterans.

Nazario said he was fired by Riverside officials in 2007 but promised that he will be rehired if a court would find him innocent.

In 2008, Nazario was acquitted for killing or directly causing his other colleagues to kill four unarmed detainees in a prison in Fallujah, Iraq in 2004.

The Riverside City Attorney’s Office has declined to give comments about the lawsuit.