North Las Vegas police union chief sues city
A North Las Vegas police sergeant who heads the police supervisors union filed a lawsuit against the police chief, city manager and city Thursday, according to court documents.
Leonard Cardinale claims that Police Chief Joseph Chronister, City Manager Tim Hacker and the city took retaliatory actions against him after he made a public statement in 2012 accusing the city of union busting.
According to court documents, Cardinale made the statements as president of the North Las Vegas Police Supervisors Association, which represents the interests of police sergeants and lieutenants.
Following the comments, Chronister reassigned Cardinale from a day-shift non-patrol position to a swing-shift patrol position. As a result, Cardinale was denied adequate time to perform association business and was required to use his annual leave, according to court documents.
Also, Cardinale no longer received his specialty pay that he had received since before 2011.
The documents state that Hacker was informed of Chronister’s actions but failed to “control Chronister.”
Cardinale claims that his First Amendment rights were violated. He seeks reinstatement to his day-shift non-patrol position with specialty pay, as well as court costs and punitive damages.
The parties could not be immediately reached for comment Saturday.
Contact reporter Caitlyn Belcher at cbelcher@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0264.
