Captain Paul Fields v. City of Tulsa, Oklahoma - Police Officer Punished for Refusing To Attend Mosque Services

From the American Freedom Law Center:

Captain Paul Fields has served honorably on the City of Tulsa, Oklahoma police department for more than 17 years.  Throughout his entire career, Captain Fields has been a model for other police officers and an exemplary employee of the police department.  Captain Fields is a Christian.  He is not a Muslim, nor does he adhere to the Islamic faith.  He objects to the City of Tulsa, its police department, and its officials promoting, endorsing, or otherwise providing favored treatment to Islam and compelling officers of the police department to attend Islamic events, including the “Law Enforcement Appreciation Day,” which was sponsored by the Islamic Society of Tulsa.  

On January 25, 2011, Deputy Chief of Police Webster, who is a defendant in this lawsuit, announced in a staff meeting that the Islamic Society was hosting a “Law Enforcement Appreciation Day” that was scheduled for Friday, March 4, 2011.  Friday is the “holy day” or “Sabbath” for Islam. 

On Wednesday, February 16, 2011, an email approved by City police officials was sent to all police department personnel, stating, “Please see attached flier and rsvp if attending to ensure there is plenty of great food and tour guides.”  Attached to the email was a flyer from the Islamic Society.  

The event at the Islamic Society was not a collaborative event between the City Police Department and the Islamic Society, but simply an open invitation to “All Tulsa Law Enforcement” that was planned solely by the Islamic Society.

There was no agenda on the invitation flyer—nor was one created by City police offficials—for the invited officers to discuss crime or crime related issues of any kind.  Consequently, the Islamic event was not a function of what is known as “Community Policing,” nor did this event involve a “call for service.”  In sum, it was a private event hosted by an Islamic religious organization. 

The Islamic event involved “Mosque tours,” meeting “Local Muslims & Leadership,” watching the “weekly congregational prayer service,” and receiving presentations on Islamic “beliefs . . . .  All questions welcome!”  Thus, as advertised, the event involved Islamic proselytizing.  See a copy of the flyer here.  Consequently, no officer under Captain Fields’ command volunteered to attend.

On February 17, 2011, Captain Fields received an email from his immediate supervisor at the Riverside Division, Major Julie Harris.  This email had the subject line, “Tour of Mosque – March 4,” and stated, in relevant part, “We aredirected by [Deputy Chief of Police] Webster to have representatives from each shift—2nd, 3rd, and 4th to attend [the Islamic event].”  This email also contained the directive from Webster, which was pasted into the text of the email.  Webster, with the approval of Chief of Police Jordan, who is also a defendant in this lawsuit, was now ordering officers to attend the Islamic event.  It was no longer voluntary.

After receiving the email from Major Harris, Captain Fields met with her to discuss the order from Webster.  He advised Major Harris of his belief that the order was unlawful.  Captain Fields correctly believes that City police officials do not have a right to order police officers to attend an Islamic event against the officers’ personal religious beliefs and convictions.

Captain Fields also responded to the order by email.  In his email response, Captain Fields stated that he believed that the order directing officers to attend the Islamic event was “an unlawful order, as it is in direct conflict with my personal religious convictions, as well as to be conscience shocking.”  Captain Fields concluded his email by stating, “Please consider this email my official notification to the Tulsa Police Department and the City of Tulsa that I intend not to follow this directive, nor require any of my subordinates to do so if they share similar religious convictions.” 

On February 18, 2011, Webster sent a three-page interoffice correspondence to Captain Fields by email that affirmed the order and requested Captain Fields to reconsider his position.  Captain Fields again refused based on his religious beliefs, convictions, and conscience.

As a result of Captain Fields’s refusal to compromise his religious beliefs and convictions and violate his conscience, Webster ordered Captain Fields to appear in Jordan’s conference room on Monday, February 21, 2011.

During this meeting with Jordan and Webster, Captain Fields again explained that he believed the order was unlawful and that he could not, in good conscience, obey the order nor force the officers under his charge to obey it.  

At the conclusion of this meeting, Captain Fields was served with a pre-prepared order transferring him to the Mingo Valley Division, as well as a notification that the police department was initiating an internal investigation of him for allegedly violating Rule 6 of the Tulsa Police Department Rules and Regulations (“Duty to be Truthful and Obedient”).  The transfer order stated, “This action is taken in reference to an Internal Affairs administrative investigation regarding the refusal to follow a direct order.”

Prior to being transferred for his refusal to violate his personal religious beliefs and those of the officers under his charge, Captain Fields was the shift commander for 26 officers and 5 supervisors.  As a result of this transfer, which is now a permanent part of his personnel record, Captain Fields was stripped of his command and his stellar reputation as a police officer was irreparably tarnished.