A Texas mom is suing the cops who arrested her for warning on social media how her town’s dirty drinking water has “hospitalized” citizens.
Jennifer Combs, of Trinidad, was tossed in jail earlier this month as alleged political retaliation for posting about the “serious” public health concern on Facebook — a possible freedom of speech violation, according to FOX 4.
“It was probably one of the most humiliating things I’ve ever gone through in my entire life. It was very, very bad,” she told the outlet.
Combs called her May 8 arrest for felony false alarm or report is “an extreme stretch” — considering even the city’s mayor, Dennis Haws, has admitted that residents are plagued by disgusting brown-and-yellow tap water “issues.”
“There’s people that are saying that their appliances are getting ruined, they can’t cook with the water, they can’t bathe with it, they can’t do laundry,” Combs said.
“A lot of them feel hushed, and like they don’t have a voice and no one listens to them and no one takes them seriously.”
Combs posted a Facebook message on her citizen watchdog group page, Southern Belle Watch, on April 6 — imploring those who have been sickened by the city’s tap water to report it.
“We have received reports that some citizens have been hospitalized due to bacteria in the water. This is a serious public health concern that deserves immediate attention,” she wrote.
“If your water looks discolored, contains sediment, has a strong odor, or you have experienced related health issues, please send us a message. We are gathering information and reporting findings to the state.”
Following the post, Combs was arrested and Trinidad Police Chief Charles Gregory later doubled down on the move.
Gregory called the case “cut and dry,” and said her claims about hospitalizations “are simply false and have only caused unnecessary fear and confusion in our community,” according to a May 10 Facebook post.
Trinidad police claimed Combs wrote “false information that creates fear, panic, or unnecessary emergency response within a community.”
The city, however, posted its own notice to residents urging them to boil their water to “avoid harmful bacteria” on April 21 — weeks after Combs’ post.
Trinidad has suffered through a long-running water infrastructure problem with pipes dating back to the 1950s, according to the mayor.
“We have to get to a position where we can fix that infrastructure, and it’s very expensive as I’m sure you can imagine,” Haws said Tuesday.
“The city’s water situation is a struggle, without question.”
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality confirmed it received a complaint regarding the water quality in Trinidad, and that an investigation is ongoing, FOX 4 reported.
Dale Carpenter, a constitutional law professor at Southern Methodist University, was skeptical that Combs had committed a crime — and said her First Amendment rights may have been violated.
“She’s making a statement regarding a matter of great public interest and so people sometimes make false statements on matters of great public interest, and they’re allowed to do so,” he told the station.
“I really haven’t seen anything like this before.”
Combs has since filed a federal lawsuit against the city, which includes Gregory, and another member of the Trinidad Police Department.
CJ Grisham, a lawyer for Combs, called her arrest an “abuse of power.”
“The City of Trinidad has become a cautionary tale of what happens when unchecked ego masquerades as governance,” Grisham said.
Gregory didn’t immediately return The Post’s request for comment.
Read the full article here
