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Thomas More Law
Center Petitions Supreme Court—
Stop Retaliation
against Christian Police Captain Who Objected to Islamic Indoctrination
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On Monday September 15, 2014, the Thomas
More Law Center (TMLC), a public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor,
MI, filed a petition in the US Supreme Court to review the Tenth Circuit
Court of Appeals decision which upheld the punishment of Tulsa, Oklahoma
police captain, Paul Fields after he refused to attend or order personnel
under his command to attend proselytizing services at an Islamic Mosque
with ties to the Muslim Brotherhood.
Richard Thompson, the President and Chief
Counsel for TMLC, commented, “This case is another startling example of
applying a double standard when Christian civil rights are
involved. If this were a Catholic or Protestant prayer event, I am
positive no Muslim police officer would have been ordered to attend.
Further, no federal court would have approved the punishment of a Muslim
officer had he refused to attend.”
The event at issue, dubbed “Law
Enforcement Appreciation Day,” had nothing to do with any official police
function. Rather, it included a mosque tour, meetings with local
Muslims and Muslim leadership, observing a weekly prayer service,
familiarizing the officers with Islamic religious books, and lectures on
Islamic beliefs, Mohammad, Mecca, and how Muslims pray. The event
was scheduled for Friday, March 4, 2011—Friday being the Islamic “holy
day.”
The event was originally voluntary, but
when not enough officers were willing to attend, it became mandatory.
After the event, the mosque posted
pictures of officers who were in attendance on their website with the
caption “Discover Islam Classes for Non-Muslims.”
The mosque showed its true colors when a
week before the March 4th event, it hosted a dinner and
speech by Imam Siraj Wahhaj, an unindicted co-conspirator in
the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. In 1992, Wahhaj told a Muslim
audience in New Jersey, “If only Muslims were more clever politically,
they could take over the United States and replace its constitutional
government with a caliphate.”
In another sermon, Wahhaj said: “In
time, this so-called democracy will crumble, and there will be nothing,
and the only thing that will remain will be Islam.”
Captain Fields objected to attending the
Islamic proselytizing event based upon his Christian beliefs. As a
police officer, Captain Fields was strictly prohibited from discussing
his Christian faith while on duty. Therefore attendance at the
event created a conflict and a moral dilemma. For raising his
sincere religious objection, Captain Fields, a 16-year police veteran
with a stellar record, was stripped of his command, transferred to
another division where he was subsequently assigned to the graveyard
shift, and subjected to an Internal Affairs (IA) investigation.
When Captain Fields defended his religious
freedom by retaining the TMLC and filing a federal lawsuit to protect his
First Amendment rights, the City of Tulsa retaliated against him.
The City issued a personnel order against Captain Fields reflecting that
the lawsuit and the publicity the lawsuit garnered brought discredit upon
their police department.
In compelling deposition testimony in his
favor, Police Major Julie Harris, Captain Fields’ immediate supervisor
testified:
·
The
Tulsa Police Department retaliated against Fields for exercising his
constitutional rights.
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Captain
Fields had the right to object to the order to attend the Mosque because
of his deeply held religious beliefs.
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Captain
Fields was punitively transferred for invoking his constitutional rights.
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There
was no need for Captain Fields to attend the Mosque if he had a religious
conviction against doing so and there was no crime to investigate.
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Captain
Fields was the top performing shift commander in his division.
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Captain
Fields’ punishment was inconsistent with other similarly situated
officers of his rank.
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The
allegations of the Internal Investigation of Captain Fields could not be
sustained.
Erin Mersino, the TMLC attorney handling
the case for the Law Center commented, “The matter is now ripe for the
United States Supreme Court’s review. As the petition states, the
City of Tulsa has been allowed to punish a public employee, Captain
Fields, for his right to seek redress of a civil rights violation in
court. The Thomas More Law Center is hopeful that the United States
Supreme Court will step in to right the wrongful punishment and
retaliation Captain Fields has faced because of his Christian
beliefs.”
The TMLC devotes much of its efforts to
countering the Stealth Jihad waged by Muslims in the United States, as
well as defending the religious freedom of Christians. It has been
representing Captain Fields since 2011.
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