Cops in polygamous town stripped of badges

[Bolt_Gundam510]

ST. GEORGE, Utah, (AP) -- Two officers in border towns where many residents belong to a polygamous sect were stripped of their badges in Arizona, and Utah will open its own probe, an official said Thursday.

The twin border towns of Colorado City, Arizona, and Hildale, Utah, are home base for a sect of polygamists.

Fred Barlow, marshal in Colorado City, Ariz., and Preston Barlow, a deputy, were decertified Wednesday in Arizona after an investigation found them guilty of misconduct.

They were accused of not cooperating in civil proceedings involving the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and a criminal investigation of its embattled leader, Warren Jeffs.

In October 2005, when Jeffs was on the run from authorities, Fred Barlow wrote a letter in which he warmly referred to him as "Uncle Warren" and pledged "our desire to stand with you and the priesthood."

Utah officials were waiting for a decision by Arizona before pursuing their own investigation, said Maj. Rich Townsend, executive director of Police Officer Standards and Training.

"Arizona received the information first, and we just didn't feel like it was right or appropriate for Utah to jump right in the middle of it," Townsend said.

He said he will meet with Hildale, Utah, Mayor David Zitting next week to discuss what the city plans to do with the Barlows. Hildale pays Colorado City $12,000 a year for police services, according to the contract.

The Barlows could voluntarily surrender their Utah credentials, Townsend said.

They also can appeal to an Arizona court. Phone calls to their attorneys seeking comment were not immediately returned.

Since 2003, six officers in the towns have been decertified for various reasons, including polygamy, a central tenet of the FLDS church. The action against the Barlows leaves Colorado City with six officers.

Jeffs, 51, is on trial in St. George on charges of rape as an accomplice for his role in the arranged marriage of a 14-year-old girl to an older cousin in 2001. Closing arguments will be heard Friday.

Source: CNN U.S.

[dock98]

blah,blah,blah.i dont know why the federal govt wanted to get this guy so bad9jeffs);however,being from az i agree with the lifting of their credentals for not doing what they were sworn to do.

[dMog]

blah,blah,blah.i dont know why the federal govt wanted to get this guy so bad9jeffs);however,being from az i agree with the lifting of their credentals for not doing what they were sworn to do.

Dock...read the and listen to the news.... Jeffs was running "his own country" and abusing children for starters not to mention all the other illegal felony activities...in addition please read this(see link) and then tell me that he was/is a harmless man... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warren_Jeffs he's a damn megalomaniac and needed to be stopped...he call black people the spawn of the devil...he is an evil, evil man...

[dock98]

blah,blah,blah.i dont know why the federal govt wanted to get this guy so bad9jeffs);however,being from az i agree with the lifting of their credentals for not doing what they were sworn to do.

Dock...read the and listen to the news.... Jeffs was running "his own country" and abusing children for starters not to mention all the other illegal felony activities...in addition please read this(see link) and then tell me that he was/is a harmless man... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warren_Jeffs he's a damn megalomaniac and needed to be stopped...he call black people the spawn of the devil...he is an evil, evil man...

i read the news every day.i wasnt talking about his empirical motives. i was talking about the one arranged marriage that he performed.you are treating it the same way the fbi did.using any excuse to arrest him and send him to prison.this is the united states.we have laws to protect all of us including people like him.we have a legislative government.not a common law government.

if you want to talk about evil,how about o.j. simpson,bloody murderer of 2 innocents.

[Samurai]

Although I agree with "everyone must be protected by law" whether this be the rights of citizens or whatnot, I have to ask dock... what is it you're saying about Warren Jeffs?

I read that article yesterday (Wikipedia) and if even half of what's on there is true then by all means he needs to be imprisoned. It's not "any excuse to arrest him", it's actually about a dozen reasons.

[dMog]

Although I agree with "everyone must be protected by law" whether this be the rights of citizens or whatnot, I have to ask dock... what is it you're saying about Warren Jeffs?

I read that article yesterday (Wikipedia) and if even half of what's on there is true then by all means he needs to be imprisoned. It's not "any excuse to arrest him", it's actually about a dozen reasons.

there are also many allegations that Jeffs had people murdered that disagreed with his teachings..... and because of the burden of proof and the fact that the people that would be potential wittinesses actually believe Jeff's to be a direct descendant of Jesus Christ they will never testify against him...Maybe these people should really read the Bible and then they could discern a false prophet when they see one.... :)

[dock98]

they had 2 witnesses against him and 9 for.read the trial transcript not wickopedia.i am no saying he does not deserve jail time or worse;however,all u.s. citizens are innocent until proving.just because i fight for his right ,no matter how much i dont believe him,does not mean he is not an ogre.