Rick Littlefield speaks to the crowd at a Delaware County Commission meeting in November after he was appointed sheriff by the commissioners after the resignation of the former sheriff, Jay Blackfox. Tulsa World file
JAY - Hanging on the wall of the newly appointed Delaware County Sheriff Rick Littlefield's office is a 40-year-old, two-foot, faded sign that serves as a daily reminder of why the former state lawmaker signed on for one of the toughest jobs he has ever encountered.
"Re-Elect Jarvis Littlefield," the faded blue letters spell out.
"I wanted this job because it's my home and my family has spent decades in this county in law enforcement," said Rick Littlefield. "When the trouble with the sheriff's department and the $13.5 million settlement was publicized, I wanted to get involved."
His father, Jarvis Littlefield, was elected Delaware County sheriff in 1972 and 1974. Today, the 84-year-old Littlefield wants a debriefing every day, said his son.
The younger Littlefield, who served as a deputy from 1981 to 1982, carries the same gun today as he did 30 years ago. Several of his family members have been law enforcement officers in Grove, Jay and Delaware County. His brother, Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper Randy Littlefield, was killed Jan. 15, 1990, when he was struck by a pickup while directing traffic.
Littlefield was selected by the county commissioners on Nov. 15 to fill the post after the resignation of former sheriff, Jay Blackfox, and Littlefield vowed to clean up the mess in his own backyard.
The former sheriff's resignation came as the result of fallout from a multimillion-dollar federal civil rights lawsuit filed by 15 former inmates who said they were raped and sexually assaulted by deputies and jailers and that Blackfox covered up for his deputies. Blackfox was never accused of any sexual misconduct and denied covering up the men's actions, but the judgment left the Sheriff's Office with a black eye.
"The first and last telephone call I make every morning and every evening is to the office," Littlefield said. "I want to know what happened overnight and the head count."
One of the first changes Littlefield made was to install 16 video recording devices on the existing cameras in the jail. The cameras function in real time and with audio, he said. Previously the jail had cameras, but they were not operational, Littlefield said.
"Cameras will avoid further incidents between inmates and jailers," Littlefield said. "We were probably the only jail in the state that didn't have recording in the jail area."
He also implemented mandatory polices and procedures with dealing with female inmates. Now only female deputies can transport female inmates to medical appointments, he said.
"There weren't many policies in place," Littlefield said referring to the administrative side of the Sheriff's Office.
In the past six weeks Littlefield has also replaced the department's undersheriff and filled the jail administrator's position. Both men have many years experience in law enforcement as well as superb managerial skills, he said.
Littlefield has also released eight employees.
Lonnie Hunter, the former jail administrator who was one of the men at the center of the sexual allegations, was released a week before Littlefield took office.
"The investigation is still open," Littlefield said as he thumbs through Hunter's 3-inch personnel file referring to an Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation inquiry.
He also had the jail swept for drugs and contraband and had a Department of Corrections employee review inmates tattoos for gang affiliations, Littlefield said.
Another new policy that was created involves dispensing medicine and making sure the medical cabinet remains locked at all times, he said.
After an inmate was found with a bag containing 67 pills during the drug sweep, new policies were enacted whereby a deputy personally watches the inmate swallow medication.
Plans are for the department to get tasers, and Littlefield said he wants to establish a jail ministry policy.
Original Print Headline: New Delaware County sheriff cleans house
