A police officer in Chelsea, Oklahoma has come under fire for performing his job and disregarding how influential the individual he pulled over is.
According to ABC 8 Tulsa, well-connected local businessman Brian Haggard thought he was going to get the easy treatment when he was pulled over for a DUI. He was terribly mistaken.
It all started when officer Nicolas Pappe pulled over a white Jeep because he noticed the driver was showing signs of driving while intoxicated. During the stop however, Pappe apparently contacted his connections in the city and that’s where things took a turn for the worse.
In an interview with ABC 8 Tulsa, Assistant Chief Travis Hogan said “I was shocked when I received a phone call from the police commissioner. I thought he knew better than that. But for him to call me and ask me if I would allow him to leave his home to [go 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.”
The city manager then arrived at the scene asking Pappe to release Haggard, but he continued to arrest the businessman for driving under the influence. This created two months of unrest for the Chelsea police department.
“My officers have received threats. Myself and the chief have received threats to our jobs,” said Hogan.
Hogan noted it is very uncommon for a city manager to behave in such a manner.
“It’s not that he [city manager] showed up and tried to prevent my officer from doing anything, but it was just his mere presence,” Hogan added.
Haggard asserts there have been no threats made toward the police department and that “cops are ruining the reputation of the city.”
An interview was declined by the police commissioner at the time of the incident and efforts to contact the city manager have not been successful.
Who ever wrote this article should’ve proof read it before publishing it. A glaring mistake makes this article misleading.
That being said. The city manager should be fired and Haggard’s DUI case needs to be sent to State court rather than city court, that way the city manager and the commissioner will have less influence on the outcome.
nothing new, come to Granite Quarry NC and see corruption an the good old boy system in full gear at this Police Dept!
What a shame. Just doing your job and get all that grief. The citizens should be ashamed.
I agree the city manager should be fired but he should be fired along with the police commissioner. It is sad that the character and integrity of this chief and assistant chief is causing them so much of a problem. At one time this kind of character and integrity would be celebrated. Great job guys. Keep it up !
If I heard correctly, the police chief himself tried to intervene and prevent the arrest. Pretty blatant. The assistant chief seems like an upright guy.
What a couple of azzholes!