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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings, Torture and Big Money |
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August 23rd,
2007 - Police Association Wants Accused Former Marine Reinstated |
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Police Association Wants Accused
Former Marine Reinstated By Mark Walker North County Times August 23, 2007 10:04 PM PDT North County - A former Camp
Pendleton Marine accused of killing two insurgent detainees in Iraq in late
2004 should be reinstated as a Riverside police officer pending resolution of
the case, the president of the Riverside Police Officers Association said
Thursday. Jose Nazario was terminated
from his job Aug. 7, eight days before he appeared in U.S. District Court in
Riverside on a charge of voluntary manslaughter for the Fallujah killings. Nazario was in his
probationary period when he was terminated; Riverside police officials gave
no reason for the firing. His lawyers contend that the
dismissal is tied directly to the allegations against Nazario, who has said
he is innocent in the detainee deaths. Riverside police Detective
Ken Tutwiler, president of the police officers association, said he believes
that the 27-year-old married father of one should have been placed on
administrative leave until the government's case against him is resolved. In a written statement,
Tutwiler said Nazario was eight weeks shy of completing his probationary
period. "We live in a country
where a person is considered innocent until proven guilty. Like all Riverside
police officer candidates, he underwent rigorous psychological and polygraph
tests and passed with flying colors," Tutwiler wrote. One of Nazario's lawyers,
Emery Ledger, has released the results of that polygraph, which shows his
client answered truthfully when asked if he was aware of or had ever committed
a major crime. Ledger said Nazario is
grateful for the association's support. Tutwiler said Nazario's
dismissal from the police force appears related to the charge he faces in the
Fallujah incident. "In the face of
accusations related to his war record, Nazario finds himself dismissed
without recourse, leaving him without a livelihood," he said. The association also has set
up a fund to help Nazario and his wife, former Murrieta residents who now
live in Riverside, cover living expenses. Efforts to reach the
Riverside police chief's office for a comment on the association request were
not immediately successful. External link: http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/08/24/military/6_00_098_23_07.txt |