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Following arresting a local woman for complaining about local water quality, and then arresting a protester by falsifying testimony, Texas has shut down the Trinidad, TX police department.

The State of Texas has ordered the Trinidad Police Department to shut down after an investigation found the small municipal law-enforcement agency failed to meet minimum state standards and could not demonstrate that it was providing sufficient public benefit to the community.

The extraordinary action by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement, commonly known as TCOLE, means another small American municipality will rely more heavily on a larger county law-enforcement agency to provide an essential government service.

According to FOX 4 Dallas-Fort Worth, TCOLE notified Trinidad Mayor Dennis Haws that the department had “failed to meet minimum standards” and could not provide evidence that the police agency provided a public benefit to the community.

The Trinidad Police Department is expected to lose its TCOLE agency licensing by Friday, effectively ending its ability to operate as the city’s municipal police agency.

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Much of the recent scrutiny surrounding Trinidad began with resident and citizen journalist Jennifer Combs.

Combs used her Southern Belle Watch Facebook platform to raise concerns about Trinidad’s municipal water.

She alleged residents had experienced health problems linked to the water and posted photographs of discolored water.

The Trinidad Police Department disputed claims being circulated about the water system.

Police subsequently arrested Combs on a felony false-alarm charge.

The arrest attracted significant attention because it involved a citizen publishing information and criticism concerning a public utility operated by the same municipal government whose police department arrested her.

A Henderson County grand jury subsequently declined to indict Combs.

The controversy did not end there.

Winston Wesley Noles, known online as Otto the Watchdog, was arrested for disorderly conduct while protesting Combs’ arrest.

That charge was subsequently dismissed.

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