Tulsa County Sheriff shooting of Eric Harris

[cannon_fodder]

FIRE EVERYONE NOW. If the following CBS report is true:

All administrators, supervisors, the Sheriff... Anyone who used influence needs to be terminated, pensions revoked, and investigated for corruption and jail time.

Bates was investigated in 2009. The investigation concluded his training was questionable, his behavior inappropriate (including using his private car to pull people over), he was given preferential treatment, and supervisors inappropriately used influence to make others violate policy. When people questioned his behavior they were told to go talk to the sheriff (my BFF) if they had a problem. No changes were made, status quo continued until someone was killed - then they STILL denied they did anything wrong.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/tulsa-sheriffs-office-had-investigated-robert-bates-in-2009/

Unreal. Smollen just made another million dollars.  Serious heads should roll.

[heironymouspasparagus]

Given past experience with events like the county commissioner scandal, Glanz and all his buddies will be re-elected easily and/or retained in jobs.

[AquaMan]

Smolen. And its plural.

No way this just goes away H. Too many people know too much. I also think it will impact the negotiations relating to the jail. How can these guys be trusted?

[patric]

No way this just goes away H. Too many people know too much. I also think it will impact the negotiations relating to the jail. How can these guys be trusted?

Think thats guaranteed? 
Heres excerpts from todays newspaper, recalling an incident we were just as certain would bring about big reforms:


A judge has tossed a lawsuit filed by a woman who sued the federal government after being imprisoned and then freed in the wake of the Tulsa police corruption probe.

U.S. District Judge John Dowdell dismissed Larita Barnes' case Tuesday after ruling in favor of the federal government's request for summary judgment.
Barnes sued the federal government in 2012 after she was freed from prison in 2009. She had served less than a year on a 10-year sentence stemming from two drug distribution-related convictions.
Her sentence was overturned by an appellate court that ruled her convictions were based on fabricated evidence and perjured testimony from two law enforcement officers and an informant. That same year, the federal government initiated an investigation into corruption within the Tulsa Police Department.

In the course of that investigation, the government learned that a federal law enforcement officer had participated in a scheme that involved stealing drugs and money, selling confiscated or stolen drugs to drug dealers for personal monetary gain, and directing others to sell drugs, according to the judge's ruling.
Dowdell found that while the ATF agent, Brandon McFadden, conspired with former Tulsa police Officer Jeff Henderson to build a false criminal case against Barnes, the federal government could not be held liable for McFadden's acts.
Dowdell said in his opinion that he sympathized with Barnes for what "she endured due to the actions of a criminal employee of the ATF and his brothers in crime," adding that the case reflected "another sad tale of corrupt law enforcement officers."

Barnes' attorney, Mark Lyons, said he "respectfully disagreed" with Dowdell's ruling and planned to appeal.
Lyons said he interprets the ruling to say that "when someone takes deliberate efforts to illegally prosecute somebody, that it takes them outside of their position as a government employee and it absolves the government of any liability for their acts."

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/courts/judge-tosses-former-inmate-s-tulsa-police-atf-corruption-lawsuit/article_a066e5ce-e0ac-56de-9104-d15e90815c54.html

[heironymouspasparagus]

Smolen. And its plural.

No way this just goes away H. Too many people know too much. I also think it will impact the negotiations relating to the jail. How can these guys be trusted?

I would have thought putting county commissioners in prison would have stopped them from being re-elected, too, but it didn't.  And no reform, to boot!!!  Bonus!!

Too many things stay stupid in this state even with all the high level of publicity they get to expect this to get any traction.

[AquaMan]

Perhaps my optimism rules lately. You guys may be right. One thing for sure, none of this ends without change in leadership and bypassing the chain of command for that change. Experience tells me these changes don't come from existing power structures.

Plaintiff attorneys that aren't afraid to stand up to the status quo and realize they can profit from doing so, serve as the catalyst for the process. Pretty soon it becomes an embarrassment how much money is spent for unprofessionalism and corruption.

A friend of mine who is in touch with the homeless community relayed to me what one street guy told him. He said, "I don't mind the TPD. They harass you a bit and keep you moving. But the sheriff's deputies just beat on you." Hearsay for sure and hard to document but more believable than the Sheriff's department lately.

[swake]

I starting to wonder if Sheriff Glanz now has his own criminal legal problems.

[Breadburner]

Bates should have used Smallwood.....

[Conan71]

Bates should have used Smallwood.....

Heh, heh, heh, he said "small wood".  Poor guy.  Heh, heh, heh, heh.

[heironymouspasparagus]

Perhaps my optimism rules lately. You guys may be right.


A friend of mine who is in touch with the homeless community relayed to me what one street guy told him. He said, "I don't mind the TPD. They harass you a bit and keep you moving. But the sheriff's deputies just beat on you." Hearsay for sure and hard to document but more believable than the Sheriff's department lately.

What's the matter with you??  Optimism??  Why...??  Where is this insanity coming from??  lol....



That's how Sheriff's dept was in 1968, too.  And pretty much every year in between.  The song remains the same.

[carltonplace]

We would be better off with Boss Hog. How does Glanz get taken out of office? Does he just get pressured to leave? An elected official can't be fired.

Prediction: Glanz has been using funds from the Tulsa Jail for his own purposes.

[swake]

We would be better off with Boss Hog. How does Glanz get taken out of office? Does he just get pressured to leave? An elected official can't be fired.

Prediction: Glanz has been using funds from the Tulsa Jail for his own purposes.

I don't know if this is true, but a comment on the TW site said that there is no recall mechanism for a Sheriff in Oklahoma. If true then we are stuck with him until decides to leave or is voted out.

[heironymouspasparagus]

Too late for us now, but next election cycle.... (google is your friend).

Phillip Mamouf-Wifarts

[cynical]

Sometimes you have to avoid using terms that are as specific as "recall." There is no recall mechanism, but there are a couple of ouster options. Ouster of public officials is not a political event. It is judicial in nature. it requires proof of specific things such as the commission of a crime in office, oppression or partiality in office, bribery, embezzlement, and the like.

One option that appears somewhere in Title 22 begins with the DA, the County Commissioners, or a grand jury. Another, found in Title 51, begins with the Attorney General. I vaguely recall there being some sort of petition process in there, but it has been a good long time since I've had to deal with any of these issues. I'm out of town at the moment and short of the time needed to research this, but it will give you a nudge in the right direction.

There have been city and county officials removed from office under these statutes, so if you read the cases construing the statutes you can get an idea what you're dealing with. When it's working, OSCN is a good resource.

I don't know if this is true, but a comment on the TW site said that there is no recall mechanism for a Sheriff in Oklahoma. If true then we are stuck with him until decides to leave or is voted out.

[Jammie]

I think Cynical is on to something. I don't have any idea how it's actually done with a sheriff, but elected county officials can be dismissed by the state legislature so there has to be a way to get rid of the sheriff, too. Obviously, he has no conscience and doesn't care what anyone thinks of him.

Just catching up on this thread and was glad to see the comments about the vacation in the Bahamas. I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who found that to be disgusting.

Have there been any marches about this the past few days?