A North Texas woman is suing the city of Trinidad, a town of less than 1,000 southeast of Dallas, after police arrested her for a Facebook post warning of potential health problems arising from the town’s water.<\/p>\n
In April, Jennifer Combs\u00a0took to her Facebook page, Southern Belle Watch<\/a>, a self-described “independent investigative media platform,” with information about\u00a0the water in Trinidad. She alleged that residents had been “hospitalized due to bacteria in the water” and encouraged residents to let her know if their water was “discolored,” had a “strong odor” or if they “experienced related health issues.”<\/p>\n Combs also posted several photos of brown-colored liquid.<\/p>\n The Trinidad Police Department quickly pushed back on Combs’ allegations in their own post online.<\/a> The department said Combs’ posting had false information and warned that raising false alarm that involves public services, like a municipal water system, constitutes a felony. The department claimed the discoloration of the water was caused by sediment, rust and minerals in old water lines.<\/p>\n About a month later,\u00a0Trinidad police arrested Combs on a felony charge of false alarm or report.<\/p>\n Two days later, Trinidad Police Chief Charles Gregory called the case “cut and dry”<\/a> and said Combs’ claims “are simply false and have only caused unnecessary fear and confusion in our community.”<\/p>\n Combs filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday in the Eastern District of Texas to have the criminal charges dismissed entirely. In a 43-page complaint, Combs’ lawyers wrote that the arrest was “political retaliation” designed to stop people from speaking out about the city’s water problems.<\/p>\n ALSO READ: Bexar County’s notorious records requester wants to prove that he’s a journalist<\/a><\/p>\n “Mrs. Combs did not fabricate an emergency. She did not summon emergency responders. She did not trigger evacuations,” Combs’ lawyers wrote. “She reported\u00a0– accurately and in good faith\u00a0– what community members had told her about the safety of their water, performing the most basic and constitutionally valued function of a journalist.”<\/p>\n Combs’ lawsuit names Gregory, another police officer, a city council member and the city of Trinidad as a whole as defendants. None\u00a0had filed a response as of May 23.<\/p>\n On Thursday, a grand jury declined to indict Combs, but prosecutors may continue to pursue charges against her.<\/p>\n The city issued a boil water advisory roughly two weeks after Combs’ April post\u00a0 – a notice her lawyers claim corroborates Combs’ post about the water being filthy. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality is investigating a complaint about water quality in Trindidad, FOX 4 reported.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n Gregory has said the boil water advisory was put in place as a precautionary measure because of “low chlorine residual levels” in parts of the water system.<\/p>\n “I made this page after seeing citizens publicly share concerns about their water and their community,” Combs wrote<\/a> after the grand jury declined to indict her. “I asked questions, gathered information, and refused to ignore people who felt like nobody was listening.”<\/p>\n Her lawyer is trying to get test kits so residents can test the water themselves, she wrote online.<\/p>\n Subscribe<\/p>\n