Tulsa Police Captain Involved In Mosque Dispute Suspended For Two Weeks

NewsOn6.com

TULSA, Oklahoma -- A Tulsa Police Captain who was reassigned for refusing to order his officers to attend a Law Enforcement Appreciation Day event at the Islamic Center has begun serving an 80-hour suspension without pay.

The Tulsa Police Department says the suspension is for violation of two police department policies.

Read Capt. Paul Fields Personnel Order #11-80

Forty hours for violating policy "Duty to be truthful and obedient," and forty hours for violating policy "Conduct unbecoming an officer or police employee."

In February, Captain Paul Fields said the order violated his religious beliefs.  He filed a civil lawsuit in federal court in Tulsa which is still pending.

After the suspension ends on June 25, 2011, Captain Fields will be assigned the graveyard shift at the department's Mingo Valley Division and he will not be eligible for promotion for one year.

The Law Enforcement Appreciation Day event at the mosque was held March 4, 2011.

Fields' attorney says he has filed a grievance with the Tulsa Police Department concerning the suspension order.

The last action on the federal lawsuit was back in March, when the Thomas More Law Center announced it had joined the suit to "defend Captain Fields' constitutional right not to become a propaganda prop for the local mosque."

3/23/2011 Related Story: Christian Rights Firm Joins Tulsa Officer's Lawsuit Against City