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Texas police chief Thomas Artis Peoples, 55, was fired by Oak Ridge authorities. Peoples was forced to leave his job after his arrest in Arlington, Texas for allegedly soliciting prostitution from a minor.

According to a WFAA-TV (Channel 8), local report Peoples was released from the Tarrant County jail after posting a $25,000 bond.

Oak Ridge police chief-built dept

Oak Ridge, population 500, is located in Kaufman County about 35 miles southeast of Dallas. The arrest took place in Arlington, a Dallas suburb about 60 miles East of the small Texas town.

According to the Oak Ridge website the Police Department was founded in 2017 and began active patrol in November of that year.

Thomas Peoples was largely responsible for bringing the new department to the town.  And the new police worked with the assistance of the Kaufman County Sheriff's Office and the Texas DPS.

In the meantime, the Oak Ridge Police Department obtained policing and security contracts with school districts throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, Harris County and the Houston metro area. 

The Oak Ridge chief’s arrest took place after an investigation by the Arlington police Crimes Against Children unit.

 Police spokesperson Tim Ciesco says the incident occurred in Arlington. And was the result of a juvenile complaint to authorities.

 Ciesco said the former chief was charged with a second-degree felony solicitation charge. It was not released if Peoples was on-the-job at the time of the alleged offense. And it is unknown if he has an attorney at this time.