Tulsa Police Department Explained

Agencyname:Tulsa Police Department
Abbreviation:TPD
Patch:tulsapatch.jpg
Patchcaption:Patch of Tulsa Police Department
Employees:987
Budget:$123 million (2021)[1]
Country:United States
Countryabbr:US
Divtype:State
Divname:Oklahoma
Subdivtype:City
Subdivname:Tulsa
Map:OKMap-doton-Tulsa.PNG
Sizearea:196.8sqmi
Sizepopulation:401,112 (2018)
Police:Yes
Local:Yes
Headquarters:Tulsa, Oklahoma, US
Sworntype:Police Officer
Sworn:742
Unsworntype:Civilian employees
Unsworn:168
Chief1name:Wendell Franklin
Chief1position:Chief of Police[2]
Aircraft1type:Helicopter
Aircraft1:2
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.

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

Organizational structure

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

Tulsa Police Department

Support units include:[4]

Personnel

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

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

Sworn-officers

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.[6] 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.[7] [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." 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

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.

Police chiefs

Misconduct

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.

Equipment

Vehicles

Weapons

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.<ref>Web site: Tulsa police upgrading service handguns. In 2019, TPD began issuing officers Glock 17 Gen 5 9×19mm sidearms.

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Sullivan . Carl . Baranauckas . Carla . Here's how much money goes to police departments in largest cities across the U.S. . . June 26, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200714185818/https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2020/06/26/how-much-money-goes-to-police-departments-in-americas-largest-cities/112004904/ . July 14, 2020.
  2. Web site: TPD's New Chief Starts First Week On The Job . Ledbetter . Reagan . 2020-02-03 . News On 6 . 2020-02-04.
  3. http://www.calea.org/agcysearch/agencydisplay.cfm?IDWEB=6488 CALEA
  4. https://www.tulsapolice.org/join-tpd/specialty-units--assignments.aspx RET. DEC. 22 2017 17:02 CST
  5. Web site: Internal Affairs 2017 Annual Report. Tulsa Police Department. 2017. 2. 21 December 2019.
  6. Web site: Written Examination Orientation and Preparation Guide. City of Tulsa Police Department. I/O Solutions, Inc. for the City of Tulsa, OK. July 15, 2019. 2003.
  7. Web site: Employment opportunities. City of Tulsa. July 15, 2019.
  8. Web site: FAQ Recruiting - Homepage. July 15, 2019.
  9. Web site: CRIME AND STAFFING ANALYSIS FOR THE TULSA POLICE DEPARTMENT: A FINAL REPORT. University of Cincinnati Institute of Crime Science. Nicholas . Corsaro. September 10, 2015.
  10. Web site: City of Tulsa, Oklahoma: Annual Budget and Capital Plan: Fiscal Year 2014-2015: POLICE: BUDGET HIGHLIGHTS FY 2014 - 2015 & FY 2015 - 2016. 179. The City of Tulsa.
  11. Web site: 11. TURKEY MOUNTAIN URBAN WILDERNESS: SECTION 3:FUNDS: ANNUAL OUTLAYS:Fund Summaries 10. City of Tulsa.
  12. Web site: Tulsa's Great Raft Race: SECTION 4 DEPARTMENTS: Police Departmental Highlights 14. City of Tulsa.
  13. Web site: Tulsa, OK Security Jobs. https://web.archive.org/web/20190726081229/https://signal88.com/locations/security-services-tulsa-ok/jobs/. July 26, 2019. July 26, 2019. Signal 88 Security.
  14. Web site: Armed Security Officer: Tulsa Transit: Tulsa, OK. https://web.archive.org/web/20190726083524/https://www.ziprecruiter.com/c/Tulsa-Transit/Job/Armed-Security-Officer/-in-Tulsa,OK?jid=DQaa8b45de5f71cdbf90f8da8d63627e40&job_id=17985517a02350a0f3f22132a2afafba. Metropolitan Tulsa Transit Authority. July 26, 2019. July 26, 2019 .
  15. Web site: Job ID: 322869: Armed Security Guard: Tulsa, Oklahoma. July 26, 2019. July 26, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190726085503/https://ascension.ttcportals.com/jobs/4052951-armed-security-guard. St. John Medical Center .
  16. News: New full-time armed employees helping to decrease crimes at Tulsa QuikTrips. March 15, 2019. Lauren . Partain. "QuikTrip used to hire off-duty law enforcement or security guards to work part-time.". ABC8: Tulsa, Oklahoma.
  17. News: March 20, 1989. Frank. Main. Moonlighting Helps Oklahoma Officers Make Ends Meet. https://web.archive.org/web/20190726122357/https://www.tulsaworld.com/archive/moonlighting-helps-oklahoma-officers-make-ends-meet/article_70bb414d-7886-539f-b674-65aea25998e8.html. July 26, 2019. July 26, 2019. Tulsa World.
  18. News: Fight between east Tulsa QT security guard and customer caught on camera . November 20, 2018. ABC8: Tulsa, Oklahoma. "we also employ off-duty law enforcement to assist us as well.".
  19. Web site: About: Greg Douglass' Professional Biography. Citadel Intelligence. July 26, 2019.
  20. News: Stables . Brent . The Haunting of Tulsa, Okla. . 28 December 2020 . New York Times . 28 December 2020.
  21. News: Ex-Officers Sentenced in Tulsa Police Corruption Scandal . 10 June 2020 . Associated Press . 6 December 2011.
  22. News: Killman . Chris . TPD corruption probe: Five years later, one former officer still seeking release . 10 June 2020 . Tulsa World . 18 December 2016.
  23. News: Former Oklahoma police officer sentenced to 25 years in murder of daughter’s boyfriend . 19 May 2022 . Officer.com. 9 August 2013.
  24. News: Former Tulsa Officer Sentenced to 35 Year in Prison . 19 May 2022 . Fox News. 11 January 2022.
  25. News: Polansky . Chris . TPD Major: Police Shoot Black Americans 'Less Than We Probably Ought To' . 10 June 2020 . 9 June 2020.

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