A routine traffic stop and arrest in March turned into a lesson in small town politics for a police force in Oklahoma.
Officer Nicholas Pappe pulled over local businessman Brian Haggard in Chelsea, OK, two months ago under suspicion of drinking and driving. Haggard tried to beg his way out of an arrest, but when that didn't work the well-connected businessman started making phone calls.
"I was shocked when I received the phone call from the police commissioner. I thought he knew better than that," assistant police chief Travis Hogan told KTUL. "But for him to call me and ask me if I would allow him to leave his home to the traffic stop and pick that individual up and take him home in lieu of even a citation much less an arrest, I find that highly unethical."
Before long the city manager arrived on the scene, asking Pappe to let Haggard go. Pappe made the arrest. Police now feel their jobs are in danger and citizens are blowing up with arguments and debates on various Facebook pages. Hogan even wrote a a full page letter to the local paper, asking residents to let the police do their jobs. Haggard denies causing trouble for the police and told KTUL that the police "... are ruining the reputation of the city."
Officer Nicholas Pappe pulled over local businessman Brian Haggard in Chelsea, OK, two months ago under suspicion of drinking and driving. Haggard tried to beg his way out of an arrest, but when that didn't work the well-connected businessman started making phone calls.
"I was shocked when I received the phone call from the police commissioner. I thought he knew better than that," assistant police chief Travis Hogan told KTUL. "But for him to call me and ask me if I would allow him to leave his home to the traffic stop and pick that individual up and take him home in lieu of even a citation much less an arrest, I find that highly unethical."
Before long the city manager arrived on the scene, asking Pappe to let Haggard go. Pappe made the arrest. Police now feel their jobs are in danger and citizens are blowing up with arguments and debates on various Facebook pages. Hogan even wrote a a full page letter to the local paper, asking residents to let the police do their jobs. Haggard denies causing trouble for the police and told KTUL that the police "... are ruining the reputation of the city."
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