Thousands back Tulsa officer ordered to Muslim worship
Tens of thousands of Americans are lining up in support of a police officer in Tulsa, Okla., who was punished for refusing his department's order to attend an "Islamic proselytizing event" even as a legal team representing the captain is petitioning the court to add new allegations of misbehavior by his superiors to a lawsuit over the dispute.
Named as defendants are the city, police chief Charles W. Jordan and deputy chief Alvin Daryl Webster.
The lawsuit focuses on the officer's constitutional and civil rights, and along with a resolution of Fields' concerns, it seeks an injunction preventing "enforcement of defendants' unconstitutional acts, policies, practices, procedures and/or customs."
At issue were orders by the department that Fields participate in an event at a local Islamic center that has been described as a proselytizing campaign. The Tulsa Police Department had told officers to...
