[October 22, 2009]

Webbers Falls police issue in air: Mayor questions CLEET authority, opinion in matter of town police force

Oct 22, 2009 (Muskogee Phoenix - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- The Webbers Falls mayor was still questioning Wednesday if a state agency had the authority to dismantle the town's police department.

"If there's a law that says that -- where is it?" Mayor Jewell Horne asked.

She shared a letter received Wednesday from the Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training (CLEET). It still poses more questions than answers, she said.

CLEET Assistant Director of Operations Steve Emmons said the statute leading CLEET to believe it has that power to do what it did is "very vague. I do not deny that it creates a headache for us as well." CLEET relies on past incidents and practices, he said.

"We believe the statute says without a chief of police, you have to shut down a police department," he added.

CLEET Director Larry L. Birney wrote Horne state law does not give the power of appointment of municipal police officers to anyone other than the police chief.

A chief of police may appoint police officers as he deems necessary, subject to the approval and confirmation of the board of trustees, the letter said.

"Hence, if there is no chief, there can be no peace officers," Birney wrote.

Horne said the town trustees had appointed one of the police officers as supervisor.

The CLEET representative dispatched to Webbers Falls on Sept. 28 to dismantle the police department notified each police officer to go home, Horne said.

Birney's letter said there are at least three situations of significant concern.

--The validity of an arrest: The arrested person could argue the arrest was invalid because it was made by an "officer" who was not properly appointed.

"If the court found the appointment was ineffective, and the arrest could not qualify as a legal citizen's arrest, the arrest and any evidence gained as a result would be suppressed." --Civil liability: In the event an officer not properly appointed committed a tort and injured someone and it resulted in a lawsuit, the plaintiff's attorney would argue the officer was not properly appointed. He would say it was negligence because of a violation of statute. If the court agreed, the employer (town) would be liable.

--Criminal liability -- Title 21, Section 265.

Any unauthorized person acting as a police officer and found guilty of a misdemeanor could be put in prison and fined, Birney wrote.

Emmons said in situations where towns in Oklahoma have lost their police chief, the sheriff in the county has taken over law enforcement until a full-time chief was appointed by town trustees.

Muskogee County Sheriff Charles Pearson is offering that service temporarily and had three deputies at the Tuesday meeting at Webbers Falls. Pearson's deputies are answering calls from Webbers Falls, he said. One deputy graduated from Webbers Falls High School and lives in the area.

A Gore police officer told trustees at a Tuesday town meeting that Gore police have agreed to answer calls in Webbers Falls upon Pearson's request. They are only minutes away, he said.

Town Trustee Robert Ogg told those at the Tuesday meeting he is in support of the town's police department. He isn't in favor of rushing into hiring a new chief, he said.

Ogg said he wants adequate policies and procedures in place before hiring a chief.

The town has a pending $1 million tort claim filed by two former officers, each seeking $500,000, Trustee Loren Dwyer reminded citizens Tuesday night. The former officers allege they were slandered by the town's last police chief, who asked the district attorney to file felonies against them.

Muskogee County District Attorney Larry Moore refused, saying they had committed no crime.

Reach Donna Hales at 918-684-2923 or Click Here to Send Email To see more of the Muskogee Phoenix or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.muskogeephoenix.com. Copyright (c) 2009, Muskogee Phoenix, Okla.

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