Texas police department ordered to close after state investigation

A Texas police department that jailed a woman who criticized the city’s water quality on social media 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 people about 70 miles southeast of Dallas.

Residents have long complained about the water, which they say flows from faucets in shades ranging from pale yellow and red to dark brown. Still, police accused Combs of spreading “false information that creates fear, panic, or unnecessary emergency response within a community” in a Facebook post in the spring.

Then-Police Chief Charles Gregory doubled down after the arrest, calling the issue “cut and dry” on social media.

Charges were later dropped, but the arrest prompted an investigation by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement. Last week, the agency 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. 

Related: From water problems to city resignations, Trinidad faces cascade of crises

The agency said its investigation found the department failed to meet minimum standards and failed to provide sufficient evidence that it provided a “public benefit to the community.” The department also failed to provide resources to its officers, including bulletproof vests and an evidence room.

Mayor Dennis Haws said the agency’s decision was “not a surprise.” The city council is meeting Friday to discuss next steps, which could include filing an appeal. 

“Lives and families are impacted by this, and we shouldn’t lose sight of that,” Haws told The Dallas Morning News on Wednesday. “We need to understand there’s a human element to this.”

Combs’ arrest and the water issue catapulted the city into the national news and its operations into chaos. The police chief resigned in June after a grand jury did not indict Combs.

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.”

Related: In Trinidad, the fight for clean, clear water is ‘a constant, ongoing battle’

Following the Facebook post, 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.

Haws said the water issues have long plagued Trinidad, and the city is working on solutions. The mayor said he invites anyone with knowledge of water systems to get in touch with the city to help.

“We are working on it, but it’s a slow process,” he said. “This won’t get fixed overnight.”

Combs wrote on Facebook that residents who questioned the police department “were dismissed, attacked and in my case arrested.”

“We were never the problem,” she said. “We were exposing it.”