Noble PD Now Hiring
The Noble, Oklahoma Police Department has hung out the “We Are Hiring” sign and who can blame them, with two open positions and four officers on administrative leave there is hardly anyone left to go out for donuts or to eat them back at the police station.
Three officers, including Officer Paul Rogers, Sgt. Robert Richardson and Officer Michelle Key, are on paid administrative leave in the wake of the tragic shooting of five-year-old Austin Haley on August 3rd. Rogers who fired the fatal shot and Richardson his supervisor have been charged in Cleveland County District Court with second-degree manslaughter in the death of the child.
Key was not charged, but is still on administrative leave while Noble officials conduct their own investigation into the shooting which resulted from Officer Rogers shooting a harmless snake stuck in a bird house.
Reportedly Rogers, dropped to one knee, said “Fire in the hole!” and fired twice, grazing the snake with the first shot and just missing the child, who was at a fishing pond nearby with his grandfather. Rogers’ second shot killed both the snake and the boy.
To make matters worse, Officer Bobby Brent Sirpless was arrested in Norman last weekend on complaints of driving under the influence and carrying a firearm while under the influence. Reportedly Norman Police were called in reference to a car hitting another vehicle and not stopping. Sirpless was not charged with hit-and-run as the driver of the second vehicle also fled the scene.
With four officers on administrative leave and two positions empty that leaves only five officers, counting the police chief, as the entire “on-duty” police force of Noble, Oklahoma. The situation has become so dire that Noble City Manager Bob Wade has asked the Cleveland County Sheriff for help covering the city of Noble.
So, if you are looking for work, the Noble Police Department is looking for a few “warm bodies” and evidently common sense is NOT a prerequisite, judging from the caliber of some recent job holders…
Update 10/05/07:
Noble City Manager Bob Wade citing a “lack of leadership” announced the firing of Police Chief Ben Daves. Keith Springstead, a retired assistant chief from Chickasha, OK will run what’s left of the Noble, OK Police Department until a replacement for Daves can be hired.
