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MIDLAND, Texas (AP) — Two police offi- cers in an oil-rich West Texas city spent weeks competing to see who could take the most card- board signs away from homeless people, even though panhandling does- n't violate any city law. Nearly two months after the Midland Police Department learned of the game, the two officers were suspended for three days without pay, accord- ing to findings of the inter- nal affairs investigation obtained by The Associat- ed Press through a public records request. Advocate groups immediately blasted the department's handling, suggesting that the punish- ment wasn't harsh enough and that the probe should have been made public much earlier, before news organizations, including the AP, started asking about it. ''The fact that they are making sport out of col- lecting the personal prop- erty of homeless individu- als could be seen as them targeting these individuals for discriminatory harass- ment,'' said Cassandra Champion, an attorney in the Odessa office of the Texas Civil Rights Project. ''Simply holding a sign is absolutely a protected part of our free speech.'' Police Chief Price Robinson said the actions were an isolated incident in a department of 186 officers and didn't deserve a harsher punishment. After the investigation all officers were reminded to respect individual rights and human dignity, he said. ''We want to respect people, no matter who they are — homeless, whatever,'' Robinson said. ''That situation's been dealt with. Those officers understand.'' The investigation found the two officers, Derek Hester and Daniel Zoelzer, violated the department's professional standards of conduct. There is no ordi- nance against panhandling in Midland, an oil-boom city of more than 110,000 where a recent count put the homeless number at about 300. About a quarter of those are transient. Evan Rogers, founder of Church Under the Bridge Midland's min- istry, said the failure by police to disclose the offi- cers' behavior once dis- covered made it appear the department was ''pushing it under the carpet. ''I think that does give the public the wrong mes- sage,'' he said. Asked Wednesday about why the investiga- tion wasn't made public earlier, city spokeswoman Sara Higgins said it is not the department's standard protocol to announce when an internal affairs investigation is completed. She said the officers weren't suspended until January because of staffing issues and the winter holidays. On a recent afternoon, one group of homeless people could be seen near a trash bin behind a fast- food restaurant and another around an inter- section. Among their signs was one that read: ''Anything helps. God bless.'' ''If it was them, I guar- antee you they'd be doing the same thing,'' said Desarie Caine, who sought donations on a street cor- ner while eating from a package of beef jerky. ''I think they're bored.'' The two officers, who did not appeal their sus- pensions, have been with the department about two years. 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''I'm not at all sur- prised by the arrests, I'm just surprised there weren't more charges,'' restaurateur Vivian Villa said Wednesday in Span- ish while sizzling a pan of beef in preparation for the lunch rush. ''Now maybe some of them are going to feel what we feel when they target us.'' Later in the day, Villa held a meeting in her little restaurant where about a dozen community mem- bers spoke out against police abuse and corrup- tion. Latinos account for nearly 90 percent of the community of 13,000 people tucked among fields of tomatoes, straw- berries and lettuce along the Salinas River, 150 miles southeast of San Francisco. Farm mechanics Fran- cisco Mendez and Alfon- so Perez, stopping at a taco stand before heading into work, both described being stopped frequently by police for having tinted windows or broken tail lights. ''It seems like they just want a reason to pull you over,'' Mendez said. Tuesday's arrests, which also included a for- mer police chief, came after a six-month probe of the police department launched in September when a visiting investiga- tor — there to check out a homicide — heard from numerous sources that the community didn't trust its police department. By this week, authori- ties said they had enough evidence to arrest a total of six people linked to the department for a variety of crimes ranging from bribery to making crimi- nal threats. They were all quickly released on bail. ''Ordinary citizens, again and again, told us they didn't trust the police,'' said acting chief assistant Monterey Coun- ty District Attorney Terry Spitz. ''There are more investigations underway.'' Tow shop owner Brian Miller; his brother, acting police chief Bruce Miller; and Sgt. Bobby Carillo were scheduled to be arraigned Monday on bribery charges after authorities said vehicles impounded from Hispanic immigrants were funneled to the tow yard then sold or given away. Prosecutors said an undetermined number of vehicles were sold or given away for free when the owners couldn't pay fees to reclaim them. Two people at Miller's Towing in King City refused com- ment. Former Chief Dominic David Baldiviez and Mario Alonso Mottu Sr. were set to be arraigned March 6 for embezzle- ment of a city-owned Crown Victoria. Officer Jaime Andrade, accused of possession of an assault weapon and illegal storage of a firearm, and officer Mark Allen Baker, accused of making crimi- nal threats, are also slated for a March 6 arraign- ment. Bruce Miller said the charges were baseless, and his family had received death threats since prosecutors dis- closed details of the case. Messages for Baldiviez and Brian Miller were not immediately returned. A man who answered the phone at a listing for Baker hung up when asked about the case. Attorney Michael Schwartz of Ontario, Calif., representing Caril- lo and Andrade, said it's important to hold off judgment until the evi- dence comes out. City Manager Michael Powers said all but Mottu had been placed on paid leave during the investiga- tion prior to their arrests, and that he hopes to announce a new, interim police chief on Thursday. Fixing King City's sense of well-being is a bigger challenge. ''Obviously no one should be targeted because of race, but recent immigrants are at something of a disadvan- tage,'' Powers said. ''They already fear the police. It makes them easy prey.'' Powers said a commu- nity meeting would be held in two weeks to try to resolve concerns of angry citizens and those worried about the deplet- ed police force, where 10 of the 17 sworn positions were held by Latinos. State Sen. Bill Mon- ning, whose district includes King City, said he was ''incensed and outraged,'' and thanked the FBI and local author- ities for their ongoing pressure. ''While I hope this is an isolated incident, I fear it is not,'' he said. ''There continues to be situations throughout the state where the immi- grant workforce is subju- gated to tyranny of those abusing their authority.'' County Supervisor Simon Salinas said it's going to take community oriented policing to get the town to trust authori- ties again. ''It's certainly going to be a black eye for King City,'' Salinas said. Complaints of mis- conduct have been raised during the past few years in this his- toric, agricultural city where John Steinbeck's father settled in 1890s and met his wife. With wide streets, historic buildings and old oaks, parts of the city haven't changed much since Steinbeck wrote of King City in parts of Mice and Men and To a God Unknown. But some said they are now afraid in the city. ''I'm not sure who is taking care of the town,'' said San Lorenzo Liquors store owner Myukng Hong who reopened Wednesday after closing early the night before after learn- ing of the arrests. At Leyva's Tow Yard, which police often bypassed with impound- ed cars, George Oliveros said many people in the community were aware of the investigation for months. ''In King City, a lot of people really try to stay away from the police,'' he said. ''Cops aren't really helping the people, they focus on helping themselves.'' AP photo King City residents gather at Veronica Villa's, center with red apron, restaurant to discuss a police car theft ring on Wednesday. Texas officers suspended for homeless sign contest