Tennessee Court orders military veteran reinstated to police department

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) -- A Tennessee court has ordered an Iraq war veteran reinstated to a police force, two years after he was dismissed for having post-traumatic stress disorder. The Hamilton County Chancery Court ordered Chattanooga to give Mickel Hoback his job back with back pay. City attorneys have 30 days from Tuesday to file a response to Chancellor Jeffrey Atherton's decision. Hoback, named the "Officer of the Year" in 2007, also has a $1.5 million federal lawsuit pending against Chattanooga for alleged violations of the Uniformed Services Employment and Re-employment Act. Hoback's attorney, Phillip Lawrence, told The Chattanooga Times Free Press that the suit could bring the U.S. Department of Labor into the case to prosecute Chattanooga. The initial U.S. District Court filing, which since has been amended, also alleged that then-Police Chief Freeman Cooper fired Hoback in retaliation for Hoback's comments to the media in 2008 about take-home patrol car changes for police who lived outside the county. Court records show that Hoback was deployed to Iraq with the Tennessee Army National Guard's 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment from 2004 to 2005. Upon returning home, he saw counselors at the Chattanooga Vet Center for two years and was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. Counselors said he was improving with treatment, court documents show. Hoback spent a day in the Veterans Affairs clinic in Murfreesboro on a suicide watch, but was released after a day. Then-Police Chief Freeman Cooper sent Hoback to a city-contracted psychiatrist, who deemed Hoback "unfit for duty." He was fired in July 2009. Hoback appealed his firing to the City Council later that year, which voted 2-1 against him. Shortly afterward, Hoback filed both lawsuits. Published: Tue, Feb 8, 2011