Oath Keepers -- You may have heard about the situation in Quartzsite, Arizona.  The town council and the Police Chief there are now in full spin mode in reaction to national media attention being focused on their well documented pattern of silencing political opponents by means of intimidation and false arrest, including at public meetings.  Now they are claiming that there is an "emergency" which requires them to cancel normally scheduled and open public meetings, by claiming that they are in danger -- claiming they have received threats.

An easy way to cut through all the spin is to read the written report submitted by ten of the police officers in the Quartzsite Police Department, expressing their vote of no confidence in the Chief of Police, and requesting an independent investigation of misconduct by the Chief.  Their letter lays out many violations of the law and of the rights of the people.  This is from the men and women who work in that department, who feel compelled to step up and speak out, at risk of their jobs.   These officers are a stellar example of what all police should be doing when unconstitutional behavior happens in their departments, and they are keeping their oaths.  Our hats are off to them!  The whole document is worth reading, but the following quotes are particularly valuable in understanding what is going on there:

From page 4 of the document:

We feel It Is our duty to inform the citizens of this community and the rest of the public, that we do not stand behind Chief Gilbert, or condone any of his criminal actions, nor will we jeopardize our own careers by following orders we know are unconstitutional, or by not reporting his criminal behavior. As it is apparent to us that a vote of No Confidence In Chief Gilbert is not enough to ask for his resignation with cause, we feel that notifying your constituents of the kind of man and Officer that is being allowed to run the Quartzsite Police Department is the only avenue left to convince you to start an honest investigation into a serious matter. [emphasis added]

Quote taken from page 7 of the document

Over the last two years the problems have continually got worse. Chief Jeff Gilbert is fixated on the politics in this town. He is personally involved in them and all his time and attention is directed towards political gain to benefit of himself. He is obviously biased towards certain council members and is against and outspoken to other candidates and council members. He runs license plates just to find out names of people whose vehicles are parked at businesses/residences of people he doesn't like. Not for an investigation, but to gain personal Information about people for his political benefit. He runs criminal history reports through NClC to try to find "dirt" on candidates or citizens supporting the candidates he does not like. Our policy clearly states that we are not to get involved in politics and must remain unbiased at all times. He orders officers to pull over and arrest/cite violations of citizens he feels are against him or he doesn't like. Not because they have committed a violation that he wants enforced equally, but because it is someone he doesn't like. Clearly this is a misuse of his power. He will  target officers and go after them if he feels they are going  against him. Candidates, supporters of him or friends can be in the same violation, even have outstanding valid warrants and officers are told to leave them alone. He caused the firing of the town prosecuting attorney because  Chief Jeff Gilbert felt the Town Attorney would not follow through on or file ridicules charges against people involved In a certain political group, he practices selective enforcement in the community against people who do not like him, agree with him, or may go against him. He also directs the officers to do the same. This selective enforcement by Chief Jeff Gilbert can influence decision and can initiate negative actions with highly negative results; this practice can also leave the Qualtzsite Police Department employees and the City of Quartzsite open to accusations and lawsuits and liability. This also gives Law Enforcement, as a whole, a bad Image.

Additionally, Chief Jeff Gilbert has made it clear that he does not have the time to be involved in the daily operations of this  department. His attention is diverted to his involvement in politics. He is not involved with the department and is hardly ever present. He takes no interest to those he commands. It is perceived that Chief Jeff Gilbert is oblivious to the decisions, actions and day to day operations of the department, unless it involves politics or someone involved in politics. [emphasis added]

http://oathkeepers.org/oath/contact/