Entire police department shut down after mom arrested over dirty water Facebook post
A police department in Texas has been ordered to disband after the arrest of a woman in the area who had complained about problems with the town's drinking water on social media.
The town of Trinidad had been facing problems with its water supply, and mom Jennifer Combs took to social media where she alleged that a bacterial infection in the water supply had led to people being hospitalized, and as a result of her post, Ms Combs was arrested on suspicion of felony false alarm or report, and spent a night in jail in May.
After complaints, police in the town stood by their arrest of Ms Combs, accusing her of having spread 'fear, panic, or unnecessary emergency response within a community'.
Just weeks earlier on April 21 the city had issued an official warning to residents urging them to boil their water before drinking it in order to 'avoid harmful bacteria;
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Trinidad Police Chief Charles Gregory was not swayed however, and continued to stand by the arrest, insisting that the department's case against Ms Combs was 'cut and dry'.
Now, Texas Commission on Law Enforcement has written to the mayor of Trinidad Dennis Haws, with the letter from September 9 informing the city that it no longer has a license to run its own police department.
The letter said that the police department had 'failed to meet minimum standards' which are required of a law enforcement agency, KETK reported, with the state ruling that the town's police department was 'unable to provide evidence that the agency provides public benefit to the community'.
In addition to this, it found that the department was also lacking in 18 different policies, which included those on the use of force, active shooters, vehicle pursuit, and professional conduct.
In addition to Ms Combs, police also arrested a supporter of hers, Winston Noles, who acts as a citizen journalist and was arrested for misdemeanour disorderly conduct following his displaying of a sign which read '**** bad cops' outside the city hall, according to FOX 4.
After the case drew attention across the US the police department would drop both the charge against her and against Noles, with Gregory going on to resign as chief on June 19.
Ms Combs has since taken to Facebook again, writing in a post: "For months, citizens who questioned this department were dismissed, attacked and in my case arrested.
“Now the state agency responsible for regulating Texas law enforcement has confirmed that this department could not demonstrate compliance with even the minimum standards.
"We were never the problem. We were exposing it.”
Speaking to FOX 4 News, mayor Haws said: “There’s been a lot of neglect through the years. We are moving in a positive direction. We’ve got to get past all of this.”
He added that the decision to disband the police department, made up of five full-time officers and a number of part-time officers, was 'not a shock'.
Going forward, law enforcement for Trinidad, a town of just 800 people according to a census from 2024, will be handled by the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office.
Kit Roberts