(Tulsa, OK) – Tulsa Police Captain Paul Fields is getting outside assistance in his suit against the city.  Fields has taken the city to court over an order for him to order officers to attend an officer appreciation day at the Islamic Society of Tulsa.

The Michigan based Thomas More Law Center, a firm that specializes in defending the rights of Christians, has joined the suit with Fields.

Center attorney Robert Muise says this case meets their mission as a nonprofit public interest law firm.  “We defend religions liberties across the country and this is a case with a gross deprivation of Captain Fields’ rights to religious beliefs and religious convictions.”

Muise says the city’s assertion that this was not a religions event is incorrect.  “If you look at the flyer itself it talked about mosque tours, meeting with Muslim leadership, having discussions of Islamic religious beliefs.   And we know from officers that did attend the event that there was in fact proselytizing going on at this event.”

Muise says in the past this type of event was voluntary for officers and this is the first time officers were compelled to attend.  “When Captain Fields expressed his view, correctly, that this order was unlawful and that it violated his religious beliefs and convictions he was stripped of his command, he was transferred and now he’s the subject of an internal affairs investigation.  That is a fundamental breech of his constitutional rights.”

As for damages, Fields is only seeking one dollar but Muise points out the outcome of the internal affairs investigation could change that.  “If it’s such that it does harm his employment to the point where it is going to affect him financially then we would seek compensation for that.”  “Primarily we want a declaration that the city in fact violated his constitutional rights, an injunction to prevent it from happening again, an injunction to expunge all of this negative paperwork from his personnel file as well as an order prohibiting it from being used in any future employment matter with Captain Fields.”

Muise says they offered their assistance free of charge to Fields’ lawyer and he as well as Fields were more than welcoming.