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Tulsa Police Department
Patch of Tulsa Police Department
Patch of Tulsa Police Department
AbbreviationTPD
Agency overview
Formed1907; 117 years ago (1907)
Employees987
Annual budget$123 million (2021)[1]
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdictionTulsa, Oklahoma, US
Map of Tulsa Police Department's jurisdiction
Size196.8 square miles (510 km2)
Population401,112 (2018)
General nature
Operational structure
HeadquartersTulsa, Oklahoma, US
Police Officers742
Civilian employees168
Agency executive
Facilities
Helicopters2
Website
TPD Website

The Tulsa Police Department (TPD) is the principal law enforcement agency for the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States. It holds national accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies[3] and stands as the second largest municipal law enforcement agency in Oklahoma.[citation needed]

TPD was officially organized in 1907 after the City of Tulsa was incorporated. However, informally, TPD existed as early as 1905.[citation needed]

Organizational structure

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The Chief of Police supervises three deputy chiefs who are each in charge of a bureau.[citation needed] A bureau consist of three to four divisions. Each division is supervised by a major. [citation needed] The Chief of Police reports to the mayor.[citation needed]

Tulsa Police Department

  • Chief's Office
    • Administration Bureau
      • Information and Technical Services
      • Training Division
      • Headquarters
      • Forensic Lab
    • Investigations Bureau
      • Detective Division
      • Special Investigations Division
      • Fleet Operations
    • Operations Bureau
      • Mingo Valley Division
      • Gilcrease Division
      • Riverside Division
      • Special Operations Division

Support units include:[4]

  • Air Support
  • K9
  • Special Operations Team (SOT)
  • Bike Patrol
  • Motorcycle Patrol
  • Bomb Squad
  • Special Investigations Unit
  • Cyber-Crimes Unit
  • Dive Team

Personnel

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Tulsa Police department employs personnel from a diverse range of racial, educational and socioeconomic backgrounds. Proportionally, there is significantly greater representation of Caucasian, Native-American and male employees in the department compared with the general population of Tulsa.[5]

Non-sworn Personnel

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Staff generally require a GED or high school diploma. Specialized experience and training is also required for specific roles, such as administrative assistants.[6]

Sworn-officers

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Sworn-officers are required to have at least a four-year bachelor's degree to apply, generally with a background in forensic science or criminal justice.[7] TPD has no inbound transfer program for existing law enforcement officers so all candidates must complete a six-month training course at the Tulsa Police Academy regardless of previous law enforcement experience.[6][8]

In 2015, the department had 752 sworn-officers with an independent recommendation from Cincinnati University that the city hire an additional 206 officers because, for some time, "The police department is operating at a serious staffing deficiency.": 5  In order to meet federally recommended staffing levels to manage shift fatigue, it was recommended that the city should have 1,264 sworn-officers and should more than quadruple the number of civilian administrative staff in order to satisfy standard staffing practices.[9] Funding has remained stagnant with funding levels for 2015 of US$96 million to the same total in 2018.[10][11] As of 2019, there is a projection of 913 sworn officers and 50 administrative staff by the end of 2019 financial year.[12]

Despite the shortage of staff, off-duty sworn-officers of the TPD are highly sought after as private security guards within the region, servicing various businesses from municipal transport services, local hospitals and banks, to convenience stores such as QuikTrip.[13][14][15] Many officers have been moonlighting for several decades due to the lucrative private security industry.[16][17][18][19]

Chief of Police

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Wendell Franklin was appointed police chief of the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma by Mayor G. T. Bynum On February 1, 2020, following the retirement of the previous chief Chuck Jordan. Chief Franklin is the city's 40th police chief and the city's 1st African-American police chief. Chief Franklin has been with the department for 23 years and is known for his attempts to lower crime rate and increase community relations. Chief Franklin graduated the FBI National Academy in 2016 and returned to Tulsa. [citation needed]

Police chiefs

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  • Herman Frederick Newblock (August 8, 1907 – October 1, 1908)
  • Jess Sam Walker (October 13, 1908 – February 24, 1909)
  • Hirsam A. Thompson (February 25, 1909 – May 4, 1910)
  • Charles W. Conneely (May 5, 1910 – May 3, 1912)
  • Herman Frederick Newblock (January 16, 1911 – May 3, 1912)
  • Edward Yoder (May 5, 1912 – May 3, 1914)
  • Foster Nathaniel Burns (May 4, 1914 – November 12, 1915)
  • Rees D. Moran (November 13, 1915 – May 2, 1916)
  • Ed L. Lucas (May 2, 1916 – May 25, 1918)
  • Charles E. Allen (May 30, 1918 – April 26, 1920)
  • John A. Gustafson (April 27, 1920 – June 25, 1921)
  • George H. Blaine (July 24, 1921 – April 26, 1922)
  • Rees D. Moran (April 27, 1922 – April 30, 1928)
  • John H. Vickrey (May 1, 1928 – March 31, 1929)
  • George H. Blaine (April 1, 1929 – May 5, 1930)
  • A. Garland Marrs (May 6, 1930 – February 9, 1931)
  • Nelson J. Moore (February 9, 1931 – April 29, 1932)
  • J.W. Townsend (April 30, 1932–Jun 5, 1934)
  • Charles F. Carr (May 6, 1934 – May 5, 1936)
  • Roy Hyatt (May 6, 1936 – May 3, 1938)
  • L. Randolph House (May 3, 1938 – May 6, 1940)
  • Ralph Colvin (May 7, 1940 – November 7, 1941)
  • George H. Blaine (November 7, 1941 – May 3, 1943)
  • Richard Bland Jones (May 3, 1943 – May 2, 1944)
  • Roy Hyatt (May 2, 1944 – May 4, 1948)
  • J.W. "Bud" Hollinsworth (May 4, 1948 – May 2, 1950)
  • Fred Graves (May 2, 1950 – May 6, 1952)
  • George O'Neal (May 6, 1952 – April 1, 1953)
  • Joe McGuire (May 3, 1953 – April 30, 1956)
  • Paul Livingston (May 8, 1956 – February 22, 1957)
  • George O'Neal (February 22, 1957 – July 15, 1957)
  • Joe McGuire (July 15, 1957 – July 31, 1962)
  • George John "Jack" Purdie (August 1, 1962 – February 28, 1978)
  • Harry William Stege (March 1, 1978 – November 30, 1983)
  • Robert N. Dick (December 1, 1983 – September 30, 1987)
  • Drew Diamond (December 11, 1987 – November 15, 1991)
  • Ronald Palmer (August 22, 1992 – August 31, 2002)
  • David D. Been (November 11, 2002 – April 30, 2007)
  • Ronald Palmer (August 2007–January 2010)
  • Chuck Jordan (January 29, 2010 – February 1, 2020)
  • Wendell Franklin (February 1, 2020–July 31, 2024)
  • Dennis Larsen (May 24, 2024–present)

Misconduct

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In May–June 1921, the department was key in the Tulsa race massacre when it deputized a mob and directed white citizens to "Get a gun, and get busy and try to get a nigger." Perhaps three hundred Blacks were killed.[20]

In late 2011 four Tulsa police officers were convicted of stealing money from crime scenes and planting drugs at others. As a result of these actions, dozens of convictions had to be thrown out. The ringleader, Corporal Harold R. Wells, was sentenced to ten years in confinement.[21] On 2012, when offered immunity, Wells testified drug arrests twenty years before were also tainted.[22]

In 2013, Officer Marvin Blades Jr was sentenced to 35 years in prison for the armed robbery of Hispanics during traffic stops. [23]

Officer Shannon Kepler was convicted in 2022 for the 2014 murder of his daughter’s boyfriend. [24]

In June 2020, during worldwide protests against the killing in Minneapolis of an unarmed black man, Major Travis Yates pointed out on a radio talk show that it was unreasonable to expect "... our shootings should be right along the U.S. Census lines." He noted that, "All of the research says we're shooting African-Americans about 24% less than we probably ought to be, based on the crimes being committed."[25] In March 2021, the Tulsa Police internal affairs department determined that claims of misconduct against Major Yates were unsubstantiated. In August 2020, Major Yates filed a defamation lawsuit against Comcast/NBCUniversal, Gannett/USA Today, and Tulsa Public Radio.[citation needed]

Equipment

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Vehicles

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Weapons

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Tulsa Police officers carry the Glock 22 Gen 4 .40 S&W semi-automatic handgun. Officers were previously issued the Glock Model 22C Gen 3 .40 S&W.[26] In 2019, TPD began issuing officers Glock 17 Gen 5 9×19mm sidearms .[citation needed]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Sullivan, Carl; Baranauckas, Carla (June 26, 2020). "Here's how much money goes to police departments in largest cities across the U.S." USA Today. Archived from the original on July 14, 2020.
  2. ^ Ledbetter, Reagan (2020-02-03). "TPD's New Chief Starts First Week On The Job". News On 6. Retrieved 2020-02-04.
  3. ^ CALEA[permanent dead link]
  4. ^ https://www.tulsapolice.org/join-tpd/specialty-units--assignments.aspx RET. DEC. 22 2017 17:02 CST
  5. ^ "Internal Affairs 2017 Annual Report" (PDF). Tulsa Police Department. 2017. p. 2. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
  6. ^ a b "Employment opportunities". City of Tulsa. Retrieved July 15, 2019.
  7. ^ "Written Examination Orientation and Preparation Guide" (PDF). City of Tulsa Police Department. I/O Solutions, Inc. for the City of Tulsa, OK. 2003. Retrieved July 15, 2019.
  8. ^ "FAQ Recruiting - Homepage". Retrieved July 15, 2019.
  9. ^ Corsaro, Nicholas (September 10, 2015). "CRIME AND STAFFING ANALYSIS FOR THE TULSA POLICE DEPARTMENT: A FINAL REPORT" (PDF). University of Cincinnati Institute of Crime Science.
  10. ^ "City of Tulsa, Oklahoma: Annual Budget and Capital Plan: Fiscal Year 2014-2015: POLICE: BUDGET HIGHLIGHTS FY 2014 - 2015 & FY 2015 - 2016" (PDF). The City of Tulsa. p. 179.
  11. ^ "TURKEY MOUNTAIN URBAN WILDERNESS: SECTION 3:FUNDS: ANNUAL OUTLAYS:Fund Summaries 10" (PDF). City of Tulsa. p. 11.
  12. ^ "Tulsa's Great Raft Race: SECTION 4 DEPARTMENTS: Police Departmental Highlights 14" (PDF). City of Tulsa.
  13. ^ "Tulsa, OK Security Jobs". Signal 88 Security. Archived from the original on July 26, 2019. Retrieved July 26, 2019.
  14. ^ "Armed Security Officer: Tulsa Transit: Tulsa, OK". Metropolitan Tulsa Transit Authority. Archived from the original on July 26, 2019. Retrieved July 26, 2019.
  15. ^ "Job ID: 322869: Armed Security Guard: Tulsa, Oklahoma". St. John Medical Center. Archived from the original on July 26, 2019. Retrieved July 26, 2019.
  16. ^ Partain, Lauren (March 15, 2019). "New full-time armed employees helping to decrease crimes at Tulsa QuikTrips". ABC8: Tulsa, Oklahoma. QuikTrip used to hire off-duty law enforcement or security guards to work part-time.
  17. ^ Main, Frank (March 20, 1989). "Moonlighting Helps Oklahoma Officers Make Ends Meet". Tulsa World. Archived from the original on July 26, 2019. Retrieved July 26, 2019.
  18. ^ "Fight between east Tulsa QT security guard and customer caught on camera". ABC8: Tulsa, Oklahoma. November 20, 2018. we also employ off-duty law enforcement to assist us as well.
  19. ^ "About: Greg Douglass' Professional Biography". Citadel Intelligence. Retrieved July 26, 2019.
  20. ^ Stables, Brent (28 December 2020). "The Haunting of Tulsa, Okla". New York Times. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  21. ^ "Ex-Officers Sentenced in Tulsa Police Corruption Scandal". Associated Press. 6 December 2011. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  22. ^ Killman, Chris (18 December 2016). "TPD corruption probe: Five years later, one former officer still seeking release". Tulsa World. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  23. ^ "Former Oklahoma police officer sentenced to 25 years in murder of daughter's boyfriend". Officer.com. 9 August 2013. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  24. ^ "Former Tulsa Officer Sentenced to 35 Year in Prison". Fox News. 11 January 2022. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  25. ^ Polansky, Chris (9 June 2020). "TPD Major: Police Shoot Black Americans 'Less Than We Probably Ought To'". Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  26. ^ "Tulsa police upgrading service handguns".
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