Our un-elected mayor has signed off on the suit, and by all accounts, Louis Bullock has made out like a bandit again with taxpayer money:
"U.S. Senior District Judge Terence Kern approved the settlement in a long-standing racial-discrimination lawsuit against the city of Tulsa.
Mayoral Chief of Staff Terry Simonson, acting as mayor pro tem while Mayor Dewey Bartlett is in Washington, D.C., signed the settlement document on behalf of the city. The plaintiffs previously withdrew their support for a final settlement in the case because they claimed Bartlett refused to sign the document.
Plaintiffs' attorney Louis Bullock had written in a March 17 pleading that the plaintiffs, black Tulsa police officers, had settled their remaining differences with the city and agreed "that the time has come for this lawsuit to - at long last - come to a conclusion."
The settlement agreement is still under seal, although news reports have said it includes elements such as term limits on specialty assignments within the Tulsa Police Department and the possible installation of cameras in squad cars.
Until these latest developments, it appeared that the only real drama remaining in the often-acrimonious, 16-year-old lawsuit was the Fraternal Order of Police's lack of endorsement of the deal.
The FOP - an intervening party in the lawsuit - has concerns including that the settlement would violate its state arbitration rights as well as its collective-bargaining agreement with the city, according to a document filed by the city.
However, Kern today overruled the protest filed by the FOP.
Major events in the case
Jan. 14, 1994: Then-officer Roy Johnson files a racial discrimination lawsuit.
March 17, 1998: Case granted class-action status.
April 1, 2002: Proposed consent decree filed under seal.
April 5, 2002: Court grants preliminary approval of the settlement.
Aug. 16, 2002: Court rejects the pact.
Sept. 10, 2002: Fraternal order of Police is permitted to intervene.
Dec. 3, 2002: New consent decree between plaintiffs and city filed without FOP’s approval.
May 12, 2003: Court accepts latest decree over FOP’s objections.
Jan. 9, 2009: All remaining disputed issues referred to settlement conferences for final resolution.
Jan. 12, 2010: City asks that the consent decree be terminated.
March 10, 2010: Plaintiffs sign final settlement agreement with the city. The FOP does not sign the document, which is under seal and not yet approved.
May 12, 2010: Plaintiffs withdraw support for the agreement."
Read more from this Tulsa World article at
http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=14&articleid=20100519_14_0_hrimgs400457