JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri state trooper who was fired after he was convicted of a misdemeanor for the drowning death of a handcuffed Iowa man is suing to get his job back. KQFX-TV reports that Anthony Piercy filed a petition last week for judicial review in Missouri’s Cole County. The lawsuit claims Missouri State Highway Patrol Col. Sandra Karsten overstepped her authority in firing Piercy.

Piercy pulled 20-year-old Brandon Ellingson over on the Lake of the Ozarks for suspicion of boating while intoxicated in May 2014. Piercy’s was taking Ellingson for a breath test when the Arizona State University student tumbled into the water wearing an improperly secured life vest and drowned. Ellingson was from the Des Moines suburb of Clive.

Patrol Lt. Paul Reinsch said he couldn’t comment on personnel issues.