TPD Blog

100th Academy Class Graduates

Tulsa Police Department graduates 100th class

by: NICOLE MARSHALL World Staff Writer
Friday, June 26, 2009

The Tulsa Police Academy graduated 10 officers today despite the city’s budgetary woes that threatened possible layoffs of the officers before they even graduated.

Union and city leaders announced that Tulsa’s police and firefighters will take eight unpaid furlough days with the rest of the city’s workforce to alleviate the financial situation. The contracts, reached after weeks of negotiations, still must be ratified by the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 93 and Tulsa Firefighters Local 176 memberships before they are final.

Today’s class is the 100th class to graduate from the academy, said Maj. Rod Hummel. It is also the first academy in which all of the officers graduate with a top in rating in the Coopers Fitness Test and all averaged and A grade in academics, Hummel said.

Police Chief Ron Palmer said that it may have been one of the smallest classes that he has seen, but the nine men and one woman who graduated on Friday proved themselves to be survivors.

“They have demonstrated courage and tenacity to take on the challenges of our society and to protect and serve our citizens with little regard for their own personal safety,” Palmer said.

The officers come from a variety of backgrounds, including education, professional baseball and banking. Two of off the officers are the sons of Tulsa police officers.

For most of the academy, the class contained 11 cadets, but Tulsa Police Cadet Chris Westcott, the son of City Councilor Rick Westcott, resigned amid controversy over the legality of his police employment. State nepotism laws prevent the city from hiring a relative of an elected official while the official is serving.

Source: http://www.tulsaworld.com/site/printerfriendlystory.aspx?articleid=20090626_11_0_TheTul659666

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State officials: Seat-belt use is saving lives

By AARON CRESPO NewsOK.com
Published: 6/23/2009 

Fewer Oklahomans are dying in traffic accidents, and officials are crediting a higher use of seat belts.

Last year, 84.3 percent of Oklahomans used seat belts, according to the Oklahoma Highway Safety Office.

That's up 1.2 percent from 2007 and 16.4 percent from 2001.

The national average seat belt compliance rate is 83 percent, although some states have compliance rates nearing 100 percent.

The Highway Safety Office reports that 53.7 percent of motorists who died in traffic accidents in 2007 — the most recent year for which numbers are available — were not wearing seat belts.

Statewide, traffic deaths decreased in 2008 from the previous year and are down so far this year.

"The trend is that as seat-belt compliance increases, fatalities decrease," Oklahoma Highway Patrol Capt. Chris West said. "And that's even with an increase of the total number of collisions that are occurring."

In addition to enforcement of the primary seat-belt law, officials credit awareness campaigns and education with the increase in seat-belt use.

Rural areas tend to have lower compliance rates. People who drive trucks with farm tags are not required to wear seat belts.

Justin Grego, safety director for the Oklahoma Farm Bureau, teaches a defensive driving class to farmers. He said the issue of seat belts always comes up.

"A lot of them tell me, 'I'm just getting on a county road and I'm going four miles from the house or five miles from the house to feed these cows or to check on these cows, and I don't want to put my seat belt on because I'm only going 25 or 30 mph,' " Grego said. "I always tell farmers, 'It's not you; it's the other person that you need to worry about.'

"A lot of the farmers don't think they drive on the interstates enough, but it's not the interstates where we have the most fatal wrecks; it's on these two-lane Oklahoma highways."

acrespo@opubco.com

By AARON CRESPO NewsOK.com

Tulsa Police Arrest Commercial Burglars

Two arrested in string of commercial break-ins

Police arrested two men early Wednesday on complaints accusing them of stealing several flat-screen televisions from businesses in the last few months.

Antonio Sells, 25, and Bennie Denson, 26, were arrested on seven second-degree burglary complaints in connection with break-ins at Tulsa businesses that included restaurants, a dentist's office and a trucking company.

More complaints could be added as detectives continue to investigate whether the pair could be tied to other burglaries, Sgt. Brandon Watkins said. At least 20 to 30 commercial burglaries in the last few months could be connected, he said.

Watkins said the property loss is in the tens of thousands of dollars and that in many cases, more damage was done to the businesses than the stolen property was worth, Watkins said.

The suspects were arrested after Officer Ryan Woods heard a burglar alarm in the area of 61st Street and Garnett Road about 3 a.m. Wednesday.

He determined that Airco Service Inc., a heating and air, plumbing and electrical business at 11331 E. 58th St., had been broken into but that the burglars had fled after trying to steal a flat-screen television.

Watkins said that when burglary detectives heard the call dispatched, "they knew it fit the profile of these guys who had already been developed as suspects, so they had dispatch broadcast the description of their vehicle and the tag number."

Cpl. B.C. Leonard soon stopped the vehicle near 11th Street and Denver Avenue. Sells and Denson were in it.

Meanwhile, Officer Shane Goben reviewed surveillance video at Airco. Based on what he saw on the video, Sells and Denson were arrested.

Source: http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20090618_11_A8_Police1473

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Click It or Ticket

During 2007, more than 14,000 people in passenger vehicles died in crashes while unbelted. About half of these lives could have been saved if they had been wearing seat belts at the time of the crash. As sad as this statistic is, the numbers are even worse at night than during the day, according to new figures release by the National Highway Traffic safety Administration.

That is why the Tulsa Police Department is joining state and local law enforcement agencies and highway safety groups in supporting an aggressive national Click It or Ticket seat belt enforcement campaign from May 18 through May 31. Police will be ticketing unbelted vehicle occupants around the clock--night and day.

Join us at a press conference to announce our efforts on Thursday May 14, 2009 – 1000 AM at Tulsa Raceway Park, 3101 N. Garnett Rd. in Tulsa. (Off of Highway 169 between Pine and 36th Street North)

Hoax E-Mail Continues to Cause a Stir in Tulsa

Another hoax e-mail has been making the circles in Tulsa. We have received comments on the Blog and our Public Information Office has received numerous inquiries.

It is best summarized by a comment received by one of our blog readers, which I have here pasted:

A friend sent a message yesterday telling of how her son was purposely rear-ended Wednesday while driving in the area of 36th and Yale.  When he pulled over, a group of young men (gang members) hopped out of the offending (and apparently stolen) car and began shooting at or around him.  She said that police who responded mentioned there has been an increased incidence of this all over the city.  Another friend told me that this was just sort of an "urban legend".  Which is accurate?  Are we seeing this commonly in Tulsa, or is this likely just a fabricated story?

The e-mail is a hoax. No such event has occurred. Officer Jason Willingham, of the Tulsa Police Public Information Office, states, "This a similar hoax to one that has circulated throughout the country and, in this case, has been personalized to the City of Tulsa. It is completely false."

Please feel free to circulate the link to this post to those you know who have received this e-mail.

Corporal Will Dalsing

Tulsa Police Department

Headquarters

Tulsa Police Explorers Successful in Recent Competition

Four Tulsa Police Explorer teams competed in the 20th annual Texas Law Enforcement Explorer Association competition and brought back the gold. Competing against 79 teams from Texas, Florida and Oklahoma, Tulsa Explorers brought back four 1st place and two 3rd place trophies.

 

Explorers Kelby Nichols, Brady York, Kody Ogle and Maria Agulara brought home first place in Robbery in Progress and Crime Scene Investigation. They also placed third in Misdemeanor Traffic Stops.
John Tyree, Matt Parker, Brandi Kidwell, and Eric Reese placed third in Crime Prevention.

Ethan Miller, Emily Harris, Cameron Dailey, and Danielle Cowart landed in first place with their splendid performance in both Bomb Threat and First Aid.

Tulsa Police Launch COMPSTAT

Tracking Tulsa's crime: Police leaders point out trends in city

Police leaders zeroed in on crime trends across the city Wednesday morning at the first meeting for the Tulsa Police Department's new CompStat crime-reduction program.

CompStat — an abbreviation for Comparative Statistics — uses computer analysis of preliminary crime reports to allocate police resources and develop plans to reduce crime.

As they spoke at the meeting, police used computers to zoom on a map of the city displayed on a giant screen in the CompStat center at the downtown police station. They focused on clusters of crime to examine the root causes behind the hot spots and talk about potential remedies.

The meetings, which will be held every 28 days, are open to the public.

"I would like to see more citizens in the audience," Police Chief Ron Palmer said, "but I think we will get that as the word gets out about what this is about and what we can do."

Police compared preliminary crime reports from the last 28 days to the month before to determine whether there was an increase or decrease. The numbers don't represent final crime statistics but can be used to determine trends, Officer Will Dalsing said.

Much of the analysis focused on Part 1 crimes, which include homicide, rape, aggravated assault, robbery, auto theft, burglary and larceny. However, lesser crimes were also discussed as they relate to crime trends.

Gilcrease Division, north-central and northwestern Tulsa: Maj. Paul Williams noted minimal change in the total number of Part 1 crimes during the evaluation period in the Gilcrease Division, which he commands. During last month's time period, 423 such crimes were reported, compared to 422 the month before.

Williams said the division saw increases in auto thefts and larcenies, specifically burglaries from vehicles. CompStat helped officers focus on areas where car thieves are concentrating, including the 1100 block of North Main Street and the downtown entertainment districts.

"In one case we were able to identify a suspect, and in the other case we identified a location and specific day of the week and time frame when the thefts are occurring," Williams said.

Gilcrease officers now have specific information they can use to tackle the problem.

Palmer noted that last year the city saw a drastic decrease in auto thefts, with more than 30 percent fewer auto thefts in 2008 compared to 2007. He suggested vehicle thefts might be cycling back up.

The statistics also showed that officers in the division made 14 more arrests for Part 1 crimes during that time period, increasing from 64 to 78.

Riverside Division, south-central and southwestern Tulsa: Capt. Steve Odom said Part 1 crimes in the Riverside Division were down 1 percent during the evaluation period, from 656 to 649 reported crimes.

Police did see a 5 percent increase in larcenies, which translates into 20 more total crime reports. Many of those cases were also burglaries from vehicles.

The Riverside Division also saw a decrease in residential burglaries, from 156 to 138.

Police said efforts to have patrol officers work with burglary detectives apparently were paying off.

Odom also focused on geographic clusters of crime, including robberies that were reported near 61st Street and Peoria Avenue.

"Unfortunately, were not able to see a discernable pattern," Odom said of the suspect information that was provided in the reports.

The Riverside Division also saw a cluster of auto thefts near 71st Street and Yale Avenue in an area with several apartment complexes, Odom reported. He said division leaders will focus on working with apartment complex managers in the next few weeks.

Mingo Valley Division, eastern half of Tulsa: Maj. Walter Evans, commander of the Mingo Valley Division, said total Part 1 crimes were down 5 percent during the reporting period, from 720 to 685.

Evans said he thinks some of the improvement resulted from making officers more visible in areas where burglaries were occurring.

He said two areas stood out as having clusters of burglaries. The first is roughly from 11th to 21st streets and from 129th East Avenue to Garnett Road. The second area is bounded by 31st and 61st streets from 129th East Avenue to Mingo Road.

With limited resources, instead of trying to saturate the area with patrol officers, Mingo Valley officers tried to focus on catching people who they believed were committing multiple burglaries, Evans said.

Palmer congratulated Evans and the officers of his division for the efforts they made at making robbery and burglary arrests during the evaluation period.

Endorsements: Mayor Kathy Taylor attended the meeting and said that in tough economic times, such a program can be used to help focus police efforts in the most efficient way.

"There is no place where it is more important than with the Police Department where this management philosophy, this technique, this data can be used to help our city become an even safer place to live," Taylor said.

The Tulsa Fraternal Order of Police lodge also issued a statement about CompStat.

"In a time when the Department serves more citizens in a larger geographical area while responding to a much higher call load, with three fewer officers than it had in 1980, we applaud Chief Palmer for his vision in implementing this technology to help us better serve our community," said FOP President Phil Evans.

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Source: http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20090326_11_A1_Tulsap556306

Tulsa Traffic Simulators Help Keep Police on Safe Path

Tulsa traffic simulators help keep police on safe path
BY LARRY LEVY
Published: March 21, 2009

A simulator operated by officer Larry Edwards shows what happens in a computer-generated accident. Photo by LARRY LEVY, FOR THE OKLAHOMAN

TULSA — Traffic accidents are the leading cause of fatalities among on-duty law officers, said Capt. Travis Yates, head of the Tulsa police precision driving unit.
 
To improve decision-making skills and decrease the potential for accidents, Tulsa police have invested $500,000 in driver training simulators, Yates said.

The police department can teach people how to drive — steer, brake, accelerate — but "that doesn’t do anything for decision-making or collision avoidance,” Yates said.

The simulators let officers encounter 100 stressful scenarios in rural and urban settings, he said.

Among them are busy intersections with buses, trucks and pedestrians; areas where dogs dash into the street; and pursuits that wind from city streets through parking lots or along narrow, twisting country roads.

Instructors can set up situations in which officers in each of the four $100,000 simulators must pursue the same suspect, Yates said.

If a maneuver is not accomplished safely, the simulator sounds out the noises of a crash, the windshield fractures and the word "COLLISION” flashes in big red letters.

An instant replay with an outside-the-car view shows the student where the errors were, and an objective score is given.

The simulator has the usual car controls — ignition key, gear shift, steering wheel, gas and brake pedals, seat belt — plus light and siren controls.

The initial training for Tulsa officers takes 40 hours — a day each in the classroom, on the simulators and at a track, and two days at the city’s vehicle training center.

Tulsa patrol officers receive refresher training every two years.

Source  http://newsok.com/tulsa-traffic-simulators-help-keep-police-on-safe-path/article/3355186

Extra Officers Equals More Arrests

A boost in manpower at the Tulsa Police Department's Detective Division has helped warrants officers and investigators arrest 51 people — including many repeat offenders — in 30 days, police leaders said Wednesday.

Extra officers were assigned in February to work with the Fugitive Warrants Squad to target career criminals who are repeatedly suspected of "Part One" crimes, Deputy Chief Mark McCrory said. Part One is a national classification that includes homicide, rape, robbery, burglary, auto theft, larceny and assault.

"Although official numbers are not out yet, unofficial numbers show that it is having a pretty big impact," Maj. Matt Kirkland said.

"We are seeing a drop in Part One crimes."

The officers who have been assigned to the effort temporarily also are working closely with the robbery, burglary and homicide units.

"They are trying to get these people who are very active in committing Part One crimes," McCrory said. "They are doing some surveillance in case they can catch them in any criminal activity," he said.  "That way, we are not pulling detectives away from working caseloads, and people are still getting the same service."

March 4 marked the first 30 days of the assignment, and during that time, the officers participated in 51 arrests, McCrory said. Of the 51 arrests, the officers have assisted in detaining three people on homicide charges or charges of child neglect that resulted in a death, McCrory said.

They also have arrested 18 people on robbery charges, 13 people on burglary charges, four people on rape or lewd molestation charges, and five people on charges of shooting with an intent to kill or assault with a deadly weapon.

The 51 people arrested in the effort have a cumulative record of 161 previous convictions for Part One crimes, McCrory said. In the last six months alone, their names have surfaced during investigations of nearly 500 crimes.

One of the group's biggest captures was that of Patrick Wayne Manning on Monday. Manning is charged with two bank robberies and is suspected in two others. "With the additional officers, they could keep cruising parking lots until they came up with his vehicle at a motel," Kirkland said. "Without additional manpower, that is a very difficult thing to do."

McCrory said police are working with a liaison from Tulsa County District Attorney Tim Harris' office to file cases and get higher bails set for the repeat offenders. They also have been working with the U.S. Marshals Service and the Probation and Parole Office.

By working with prosecutors, police managed to get a charge of possession of burglary tools filed against Wesley Moman III. Moman has multiple burglary and drug convictions.

The officers also worked with detectives and warrants officers in February to arrest several people who are suspected of running one of Tulsa's most prolific burglary rings, according to police. Each of the suspects had been arrested many times before.

Sgt. Brandon Watkins, supervisor of the Burglary Unit, said, "They have really done a good job of catching some of our suspects in serial burglaries — the worst of the worst — who could easily have committed 20-plus, even more than 100 burglaries in some cases."

McCrory said the effort will be reviewed after 60 days to determine whether it will continue.

Nicole Marshall 581-8459
nicole.marshall@tulsaworld.com

Copyright 2009, Tulsa World.

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Tulsa Police Honors Its Officers, Heroes

Awards recognize Tulsa police officers as heroes

Several Tulsa police officers were recognized for exceptional service Friday during the agency's annual Tulsa's Heroes awards banquet.

Officials from the Police Department and the Crime Commission honored roughly 45 officers who varied from rookies to seasoned veterans during the ceremony at the Jazz Depot, 111 E. First St.

The Medal of Valor — the top award granted by the Tulsa Police Department — went to Officer Rusty Brown for his role in disarming a man while dodging gunshots. Brown was sent to 1127 E. 49th St. on July 9 on a report that shots were being fired there. When he arrived, two men were fighting for control of a handgun, police said. As Brown got out of his patrol car, one of the men began shooting at him. Unable to find a safe angle to return fire, Brown holstered his pistol and sprinted toward the gunman, police said. With help from a private individual, Brown disarmed the man and restrained him until backup arrived.

A Purple Heart award went to Sgt. Curtis Haley, who was seriously injured when a traffic accident trapped him in a patrol car. The Oct. 13, 1980, crash killed Sgt. Don Byerly.

Haley was in the back seat when a drunken driver rear-ended the cruiser. He suffered severe back injuries and broken ribs, police said. Haley returned to the force after a year of injury leave and has since logged nearly 30 years with the department.

Officer Jared Lindsey was one of a handful of Lifesaving Award recipients for his work during a multicar pileup on an icy bridge Feb. 11. Lindsey leapt head-first from a bridge over the Verdigris River when a tractor-trailer rig jackknifed and crashed into the snarled traffic, police said.

He climbed back onto the road and revived a woman who had stopped breathing, police said.

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Copyright © 2009, World Publishing Co. All rights reserved

Police Officers Linked by Tendon

Police officers linked by tendon

by: NICOLE MARSHALL World Staff Writer
Thursday, February 26, 2009
2/26/2009 2:50:13 AM

Tulsa Police Officer Ron Neal thought his law enforcement career might be over when he suffered a severe knee injury while arresting a combative drunken driver last year.

But later he would learn that a Dallas police officer who died in the line of duty could give him a second chance.

In October, a surgeon reconstructed the torn ligament in Neal's knee using an Achilles tendon from an organ and tissue donor.

"At that time, I knew nothing about the donor. I was just happy to have the surgery," Neal said.

Neal learned the story of the donor in November, and as he learned more about him, it seemed that fate had brought their two families together, he said.

Dallas Police Department Senior Cpl. Victor Lozada died on Feb. 22, 2008, in a motorcycle accident. At the time of the crash, he was part of the motorcade protecting then-Sen. Hillary Clinton during a presidential campaign visit to Dallas. Lozada was 49 years old.

His wife, Theresa Lozada, reached by phone at her Texas home on Wednesday, said she and her four children, ages 9 through 22, unanimously agreed to donate his organs and tissue. They relied on his belief in helping others and doing the right thing.

"When my husband passed, at the hospital bed, they came to us and asked me if we would want to do that," Lozada said. "I told my children that I was not going to do it unless we all agreed."

The older children all said yes, but the 9-year-old boy hesitated at first.

"Then he agreed, saying, 'That is what Daddy would want,' " Lozada said.

In all, 61 recipients received donations from her husband, she said. She perceived the news that one of the recipients was a police officer as a sign that came to her during a troubled time, she said.

"It was right before Christmas. I was upset, and it was a hard time with the holidays. I prayed and asked Victor to give me a sign that everything I was doing was right — that it was what he wanted," she said.

That is when she got the phone call informing her that Neal was a police officer and that he had agreed to her request to meet the recipients.

"That, to me, was like Victor was saying I was doing the right thing and everything was all right," Lozada said.

Neal said he had mixed feelings when he learned that the donor was a police officer.

"I am happy that the program exists to give people a second chance of resuming normal activities, but I am also very sad that an officer was killed in the line of duty," Neal said.

On Sunday, Neal will travel to Dallas to meet with the Lozada family and to attend a dedication ceremony his department will have Monday marking his death a year ago. Lozada's picture and a plaque will be hung at the station where he worked.

"It is going to be emotional. This happened to a fellow officer, and it is a daily reminder of the dangers that we face as police officers," Neal said. "Hopefully, his wife and her family will see that even though he passed away, he still lives on and his duties as a police officer are carried on through me."

Neal, who worked 20 years on patrol without any previous injury, is working light duty now. He will find out next week whether he is well enough to return to patrol.

Every year the company that handled Lozada's organ and tissue donations, RTI Donor Services, chooses a donor family to represent it in the Tournament of Roses Parade on New Year's Day. Last year the company chose the Lozada family, and Theresa Lozada rode on a float in the parade.

"It is a wonderful experience that people are being able to use things that he is not able to use right now," Lozada said. "But it is also bittersweet."

Moved by the experience, both Neal and his wife signed up to be organ donors. And as they get to know the Lozada family more, they are learning that they have more in common than law enforcement, Neal said.

"It was a strange coincidence that the date of his death was also my wedding anniversary," he said.

Also, Lozada joined the Dallas police force on Neal's wife's birthday.

"We agree that it was like fate intervened in some way," Neal said.

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Source:

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20090226_11_A1_TulsaP37644

5K Run to Honor Officer

   

Michael J. Garner
May 3, 1946 – August 5, 2008

An avid outdoorsman, competitive shooter, committed husband, father and grandfather Mike spent his life in the service of others.

A thirty-year veteran of law enforcement Sgt. Mike Garner retired in March of 2002 as Traffic Safety Coordinator for the Tulsa Police Department – the last half of his career devoted exclusively to traffic and child passenger safety.

A leader in his field, Mike co-founded the Oklahoma Buckledown Awards in 1993, quickly becoming the state’s largest law enforcement recognition program.  That same year he would join Mary Beth Ogle, a nurse from the Children's Hospital at Saint Francis and Tom Hufford, a Tulsa Firefighter, in founding the Tulsa Area Safe Kids Coalition.

Both programs would ultimately bring law enforcement, the medical community and local government agencies together working towards a common goal – protecting Oklahoma's children and families.

The recipient of numerous local and national awards for outstanding achievement, Mike took great personal satisfaction participating in hands-on training and leading grassroots efforts for child passenger safety and "Buckle Up in Your Truck.”  And he successfully championed legislative drives to pass Oklahoma's Seatbelt and child restraint laws.

His energy and passion were contagious and his dedication to the community was surpassed only by his love for his family.  In retirement Mike remained active in both organizations he helped to found, he traveled extensively with his family by his side and took great pride in caring for his grandson.

The “Seatbelt Man” as he was affectionately known will be remembered for his tireless service, his love for his family and the inspiring way in which he lived.

Had you met him you would have never known he battled Kidney Cancer for ten years.

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