Striking back against a particularly craven example of dhimmitude and short-sightedness. An update on this story. “Tulsa police officer files lawsuit over attending mosque event,” by David Harper for the Tulsa World, February 24 (thanks to Twostellas):
A Tulsa police captain who refused to require that some of his subordinates attend an upcoming Law Enforcement Appreciation Day at a Tulsa mosque filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday, claiming that his First Amendment rights have been violated.
Capt. Paul Fields also claims that Deputy Chief Daryl Webster – the sole defendant in the case at this point – retaliated against him for his “exercise of his First Amendment Rights” and singled Fields out for disparate treatment.
Fields asked for $1 in nominal damages on each of his two claims, attorneys’ fees and whatever other relief “the court deems just and proper under the circumstances.”
Fields was temporarily transferred Monday afternoon from the Police Department’s Riverside Division to another patrol shift at the Mingo Valley Division.
The Law Enforcement Appreciation Day is to be held at the mosque of the Islamic Society of Tulsa on March 4. Police Chief Chuck Jordan has said the society scheduled the event to show its appreciation for the officers’ response to a recent threat against it.
In an e-mail sent by Tulsa Fraternal Order of Police Board of Directors Chairman Clay Ballenger to FOP members on Monday, Ballenger said Fields’ refusal “was based on the 1st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, departmental policy, and past practices
of the Tulsa Police Department.”…