Trinidad, about 70 miles southeast of Dallas, will lose its police department. Oinkers jailed a woman who criticized the city’s water quality on social media. The department has been ordered to disband after the state found it provided no public benefit to the community.
State officials launched an investigation after Jennifer Combs was arrested for a Facebook post that alleged some residents had been hospitalized due to bacteria in the water in Trinidad, a city of 860. Residents have long complained about the water, which they say flows from faucets in shades ranging from pale yellow and red to dark brown.
Police accused Combs of spreading “false information that creates fear, panic, or unnecessary emergency response within a community”
Former police Chief Charles ‘Goober’ Gregory doubled down after the arrest, calling the issue “cut and dry” on social media. He was forced to resign in June after charges were dropped. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality investigated the city’s water and found several equipment design issues that may have contributed to the discolored water by preventing effective circulation. The investigation also found that Trinidad failed to conduct required sampling.
The Texas Commission on Law Enforcement sent a letter to the city notifying it that its five-member police department would be closed effective Sept. 18. Law enforcement duties will be transferred to the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office until a permanent solution is found.
City Manager Cynthia Dosier, City Clerk Sandra Rojas and Municipal Judge Susan Carver quit in July and were replaced by interim workers. In a resignation letter taped to the inside window of City Hall, Dosier described the city council as a “circus.” Trinidad Mayor is Dennis Haws.
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