Suburbian police to be micromanaged by TCSO?

[TurismoDreamin]

Suburban police not thrilled with possibility of consolidation

by: SUSAN HYLTON World Staff Writer
Friday, March 19, 2010


Police officers in Bixby, Jenks and Glenpool aren't happy with the idea of consolidating their cities' law enforcement under the Tulsa County Sheriff's Office.

Ron Bartmier, president of the Oklahoma State Fraternal Order of Police and a spokesman for the Bixy, Jenks and Glenpool FOP groups, said: "The officers are very surprised about this and very unhappy that the city managers are putting their careers in their hands. Who decided that Tulsa County has the ability to handle law enforcement in these three communities?"

Tulsa County Undersheriff Brian Edwards said Thursday that discussions with the cities are preliminary.

The proposal is not to replace the municipal officers with deputies but to look at efficient ways to work together, Bixby City Manager Blu Hulsey and Glenpool City Manager Ed Tinker said.

Officers are concerned about response times and the impact on the residents, Bartmier said.

"All three cities are used to having their local police departments and officers they know and respect," he said.

Bartmier said the three cities' officers want to remain municipal police officers.

"Now all the sudden they're told they may be a deputy," he said.

Although the officers could be assigned to work in a city, Bartmier said there's no guarantee of that. Some could be assigned to another Tulsa County law enforcement function, such as working in the jail or civil process serving.

"If these guys take over, we'll be forcing the sheriff into labor negotiations, which he does not presently do," Bartmier said.

Jenks City Councilor Greg Bowman said he hadn't been informed of the idea and that it was too early to comment.

"It's just an idea floated out there between city managers," he said.

Bixby City Councilor John Easton said it is too early to tell whether some form of consolidation would be a viable option.

"I have to take into heart our Police Department," he said. "They've been loyal to the city, and I wouldn't want to do anything to jeopardize their standing. It would need to work for everybody before I would be for it."

Bixby City Councilor Stephen Sutton said he is open to the concept but is concerned about response-time impact.

Glenpool City Councilor Keith Robinson said he hadn't been provided any details yet.

"We've got some good policemen, and I can't see us making a change," he said. "But at the same time, I need to at least look at it. I'm told it could be bigger, better and cheaper."

Source: http://www.tulsaworld.com/site/articlepath.aspx?pg=news&articleid=20100319_11_0_Police235169&subjectid=11

[nathanm]

Yeah, don't you know that if a town doesn't have its own police force, they can't give special treatment to the football players? 

[Conan71]

The reasons originally cited by some for Simonson and Jordan being on Mayor Bartlet's (sic) staff is looking less and less like a moonbat conspiracy.

[patric]

Enthusiasm for this might cool a bit after this morning's shooting death of a deaf man in North Tulsa.
Seems the deputies were serving a predawn warrant with the SWAT team, and startled a sleeping deaf man who they say didnt obey their commands before they opened fire.
The man was a biker so he was easy to demonize, and at one point the deputies claimed a motorcycle pipe was an explosive device.  Strangely they found no drugs despite convincing a judge they would.


Meet the new boss
Same as the old boss
  -- The Who

[nathanm]

Seems the deputies were serving a predawn warrant with the SWAT team, and startled a sleeping deaf man who they say didnt obey their commands before they opened fire.

When you pretend you're at war, you act like you're at war.

[patric]

When you pretend you're at war, you act like you're at war.

They messed this one up, perhaps trying too hard to sharpen their teeth on TPD's neck.
Cobbled together from the blogosphere:



This happened right on the heels of the "Tulsa Police Department 2010 Citizen Attitude and Opinion Survey" where citizens reportedly felt the biggest threat today is gangs.

The Tulsa County Sheriff's Office may have wanted to capitalize on the publicity that generated, perhaps even show the city boys how it's done by going after a "biker gang" hideout.

So they convinced a judge they had a den full of pot and meth, and he issued a no-knock pre-dawn search warrant.
When deputies broke in, all they found was an old man sleeping on the floor of a garage apartment, who didn't hear the break-in because he was deaf.
One of the deputies guns discharged, then two more, putting three holes in his back, killing him.

Deputies kept reporters away by claiming a bike part was a "pipe bomb" and had a spokesman issue a canned justification saying the man pointed a gun at them.

But there was no bomb, no gang and no drugs.  Just a publicity stunt that didn't quite go as planned.

As for the victim, "Russ" is best remembered by friends and neighbors in Dawson as the man who organized a fund raiser for a neighborhood child who was badly burned.

The man that was shot, Russell Doza, was featured in a Tulsa World article about raising money for a burned child.
http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?no=subj&articleid=L122201064

They were recommended by the Shriners Hospital.
Not many "gangs" come with referrals...