Court intervenes in firings by 'Nazi' police chief (AZ)

WND ^ | 5 August, 2011 | Bob Unruh

[marktwain]

The Quartzsite, Ariz., police officers who were being dismissed by a police chief described by the mayor as a "Nazi" have been ordered by a judge to be reinstated until after a show cause hearing scheduled Aug. 15 and after hearings before a "neutral decisionmaker."

The orders came in two temporary restraining orders issued this week by LaPaz County Superior Court Judge Randolph A. Bartlett, who acted on emergency pleadings by an attorney representing the officers.

The weeks-long confrontation erupted in Quartzsite when city officials ordered police to remove a woman from a town meeting, even though the mayor was pleading her cause.

Most recently, officials with the office of the state attorney general took the unusual step of releasing a statement, confirming there is "reasonable cause" to believe officials in Quartzsite were breaking the law, even though the investigation was not fully finished.

[marktwain]

I have met Attorney General Tom Horne. I believe that he can be trusted in this matter.

[ArmstedFragg]

This is a really bizarre case, with a bunch of entrenched good ole’ boys, a reform-oriented challenger, and a supporting cast of the kind of folks who’ve made “mobile home parks” famous. It’s a conflict that’s gone on for years, with the police portion just coming to a head recently. There’s extensive discussion on Facebook on a page dedicated to Mayor Ed Foster. It’s quirky and entertaining. One side claims to stand for law and order, the other claims to stand for freedom and the American way, they both seem a bit unhinged to me.

[Big_Harry]

I wonder if he is related to Tom Horn Jr. (1860 to 1903) I understand that he was a real straight shooter also ;>)

[Virginia Ridgerunner]

Winslow had warned, "I have been diagnosed with PTSD … that's what I'm concerned with, that he's gonna get so far into my personal space that I'm gonna react without thinking."

Winslow explained why he thought Roth's firearms needed to be confiscated.

Councilman Joe Winslow of Quartzsite, Ariz., sparked the confiscation of firearms from town resident Michael Roth.

"I know that I'm 71 years old. I don't want to be a statistic, I don't want to go to jail and I don't want to go in the hospital," Winslow said. "But based on my history of 24 years in the service, I am more concerned about my reaction to his aggression than anything else, especially now that I believe that he is carrying a handgun. His actions have demonstrated in the past to me that he is not in full control of his emotions."

Roth, 46, was outraged at the mandate, telling WND his constitutional rights are being "completely" violated.

"Town hall is where anyone in America can air their grievances to the public and to the politicians. Now I am ordered to stay away, effectively stopping me from warning others about the police state we live in," he said. "And in these times of rising crime, I can't even defend myself or my family because a crooked councilman and a misguided judge are worried about what the councilman might do to me because of his self-confessed mental instabilities. It's complete insanity!"

Wow. Just wow.