After suspension attorneys for Tulsa Police Captain plan to amend federal suit

A Tulsa Police Captain at the center of a Tulsa mosque dispute is suspended and transferred after an internal investigation at the Tulsa Police Department.  Tulsa Police Captain Paul Fields is on a 2-week suspension without pay for violating two departmental policies.

"They, in fact, now have caused economic damages to him in his employment and his profession and we will be seeking to recover those as well," says Rob Muise with the Thomas More Law Center.  Muise is one of the attorneys representing Captain Fields.

The lawyer says Fields is suing the city of Tulsa, the Tulsa Police Department and Police Chief Chuck Jordan.  Muise says they will ask for damages related to his suspension, loss of command, transfer to the graveyard shift and loss of a promotion for at least a year.  “We have greater detail in light of these personnel orders because we now have explicit what the punishment is so we have what the damage is going to be as a result of their actions and some of the other statements that were in here about, you know, punishing him apparently for writings that went public," says Muise.

The attorney says the complaint alleges Fields’ 1st amendment right was violated.  Fields refused to order his officers to attend a Law Enforcement Appreciation Day at the Islamic Center of Tulsa after he was told do by his superiors.  Fields says it violated his religious beliefs.

"Right now, we are considering filing a state law claim in addition to our federal law claim under the Oklahoma Religious Freedom Act and also expanding our constitutional claims to include a free speech claim because they are also punishing him for allegedly statements and actions that he made that were made public," says Muise.