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A June 15 trial date has been set for a former Central Washington University professor who sued the school for allegedly wrongly accusing him of racial profiling as attorneys for the school seek to get the complaint tossed.
The university filed a motion for summary judgment in February, essentially asking the court to rule that former Professor Jose Riera does not have a case, even though last year the court ruled against the university’s request for a dismissal.
The request for summary judgment is the latest volley in a two-year-old legal battle in which Riera alleges defamation, wrongful termination, and free speech infringements.
Reached for comment, Central Washington University spokesman David Leder told The College Fix: “This is a pending legal matter and CWU doesn’t have any comment.”
The hearing for the motion for summary judgment is scheduled for March 25.
The alleged racial profiling occurred in April 2024 when Riera, a non-tenured lecturer in the Department of Information Technology and Administrative Management, called the college’s non-emergency number to get assistance for a woman who he believed was in some sort of distress and struggling to maintain her balance.
He said he reported the situation to campus police under the university’s “see something, say something” policy.
The officer who responded determined the woman was Bobby Cummings, an 80-year-old, blind, African American tenured professor at the college.
The incident prompted conversations on campus among faculty and its president that Cummings had been racially profiled, but Riera has argued he did not know of her race when he called in the report. Cummings was dressed in a headscarf and large sunglasses, which nearly completely covered her face, as well as a large jacket and long pants.
The incident was reported through CWU’s Civil Rights Commission portal and prompted an investigation into racial profiling, and Riera was asked to apologize, according to court documents.
Riera was extremely hurt by the accusation as he is “well known as an advocate for underserved communities,” according to his complaint. The shock of the accusation led to Riera taking a medical leave of absence at the recommendation of his mental health counselor, citing extreme stress, the suit states.
While on medical leave, the university placed Riera on administrative leave, which Riera perceived to be an adverse disciplinary action, according to his lawsuit.
But in their request for summary judgment, one of the arguments attorneys for the university made is that Riera cannot sue for wrongful termination because he was never really fired.
They argue his employment contract expired while he was on leave, and he had already told campus officials prior to the incident he planned to take another job.
The university contends that officials did not intend for their actions to be taken as disciplinary, but instead wanted to simply do their due diligence on an investigation.
In an interview last week with Riera and his attorney, they told The College Fix that’s not true, that he “never gave official notice to the university,” and he quickly left Washington due to stress and safety concerns.
His lawyer, Erica St. Louis, added that even if he had given official notice, the university’s actions were still unjustified.
Riera told The Fix his case is more than about him, as false accusations could happen to anybody.
He said he is “fighting for a bigger goal,” calling it a “truly a David and Goliath situation.”
MORE: Trial scheduled for professor who says he was wrongfully accused of racial profiling
