TPD Blog

Tulsa Police Re-approve Furlough Days

Police officers approve furlough days again

BRIAN BARBER, Tulsa World

Tulsa’s police officers have for a second time approved a contract that includes taking eight unpaid furlough days with the rest of the city’s workforce.

The first vote earlier this month was voided because the contract version contained technical errors that made it violate federal labor laws.

Those were corrected before Monday night’s second vote, Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 93 President Phil Evans said.

Once again, it passed with more than an 80 percent of the vote, he said.

The furlough days essentially amount to a 3.1 percent cut in pay for each officer, but it was either that or see 48 fellow officers — including the 10 newest academy graduates — laid off from the 781-member force.

Tulsa firefighters also have approved a labor contract that includes the furlough days.

Source: http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20090721_298_0_Tulsas812274

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Man Arrested for Kidnapping, Armed Robbery...

Man arrested in kidnapping, car theft

SARA PLUMMER, Tulsa World

A man was arrested late Friday on complaints of kidnapping, armed robbery, driving without a license and eluding police.

An arrest report alleges that Andre D. Payne, 26, kidnapped a man by gunpoint about 8:30 p.m. Friday in the 1000 block of 26th Place North after firing a shot in the grass.

Payne allegedly had the man drive him somewhere else, then demanded the keys and fled in the car.

Police found the vehicle and initiated a traffic stop, but the driver attempted to elude officers and threw a gun from the car. He eventually stopped and was taken into custody in the 13000 block of East 16th Place. The gun was recovered, the report says.

It is unclear whether Payne and the victim know each other.

Court records show that Payne has been convicted of false impersonation, driving without a license and possession of a controlled drug.

Source: http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20090720_19_A7_Amnwsa505741

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Police Need Info About Fatal Shooting

Robbery eyed as motive in killing

NICOLE MARSHALL & ALTHEA PETERSON, Tulsa World

Police are investigating whether the fatal shooting of a man at an apartment complex early Saturday occurred during a robbery attempt.

The fatal attack on Pedro Sanchez, 40, at the Plantation Apartments, 5537 E. 47th Place, is a "whodunit" at this time, and detectives are seeking anyone who might have information about the killing, Officer Leland Ashley said.

At this point in the investigation, there is no evidence that Sanchez knew the men who approached his family's car in the parking lot about 1:30 a.m. Saturday morning.

The victim's wife and two children were in the vehicle at the time of the shooting.

According to the Sanchez family, they had been visiting relatives who lived in the apartment complex, police said.

As they were leaving, they reportedly were approached by four men, all of whom were wearing black and white clothing with black and white bandanas, police said.

One of the men leaned into the vehicle with a gun and told Sanchez to put the car in park, police said. Sanchez apparently tried to drive away, and the man shot him.

"At this point, the detectives think that this was motivated by robbery," Ashley said.

When officers arrived, they found Sanchez slumped over the steering wheel.

He had been shot in the upper torso, police said. He was taken by ambulance to St. Francis Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Sanchez' death was the 37th homicide investigated by Tulsa police this year.

Anyone with information about the homicide is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 596-COPS or submit a tip online at tulsaworld.com/crimestoppers .

The Crime Commission offers rewards for information leading to arrests, and tipsters can remain anonymous.

Source: http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20090721_11_A13_Police485282

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New Scam Phone Calls

The Tulsa Police Department was recently made aware that several citizens in the Tulsa area have received telephone calls from an organization soliciting funds in the name of Chief Palmer. Chief Palmer has not endorsed any organization nor has he given anyone permission to use his name to solicit funds.

Although there are legitimate organizations that solicit funds by telephone, citizens should always be alert of the possibility that the caller is not legitimate. Citizens should never give personal information, credit card numbers or bank account information to an unsolicited caller.  

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.