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Quartzsite, Arizona July 21, 2011 - Many folks living in Quartzsite say the town is in a state of emergency. Sgt. William Ponce of the Quartzsite Police Officers Association says most of its officers are on administrative leave for telling the truth. Ponce is one of nine officers listed that are or will be placed on administrative leave.
"We are tasked with maintaining peace and order in our community, says Ponce, who is currently on vacation and has yet to receive the administrative leave notice. "And we took an oath as law enforcement officers to uphold the Constitution and follow the laws of the State of Arizona and that's all we want to do. And from what you can see right now, the Chief [Gilbert] himself is not creating peace in the community. He is creating chaos and disruption and only making things worse. And we just want to be able to go to work, do our jobs and not be under duress anymore."
The town's complaint says officers have defamed the town of Quartzsite, Police Chief Jeff Gilbert, its town manager and the town council. Mayor Ed Foster says Police Chief Gilbert worked under directives from some members of the town council, which he termed as "selective enforcement".