Two years after a federal police corruption probe put Tulsa police officers in court, officials say they've worked to restore public trust and prove that the problems were isolated to "a few bad apples."
"It was not a systemic issue that addressed our policies, that addressed our training, that addressed our supervision," Tulsa Police Chief Chuck Jordan said. "It was a few bad apples, if you will, that were misbehaving and committing criminal acts."
Since the trials, one Tulsa police officer has been fired under the "you lie, you die" policy that resulted from the scandal, department records show.
But public trust in Tulsa's judicial system took a hit from which it's still recovering as prosecutors, judges and police investigations continue to endure additional scrutiny.
"The system fails if you cannot trust the officer or the judge can't trust the attorney or whatever; the system fails to do its job," Tulsa County First Assistant District Attorney Doug Drummond said. "To me the lesson learned ... is that if the integrity of the whole system is questioned by the public, then we all suffer."
The scandal involving corruption within the Tulsa Police Department culminated two years ago, when the first of two federal trials against five officers took place.
Three officers were tried from May 31 to June 10, 2011. Two others faced trial from Aug. 1 to Aug. 24, 2011.
The federal investigation resulted in charges against six former Tulsa police officers and a former federal agent, as well as additional accusations of criminal behavior against five unindicted officers.
Three officers and an agent for the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives went to prison. Three officers were fired, and one retired.
'Wrongly accused'
Jordan said the city's handling of lawsuits that followed the corruption scandal and judicial rulings in those cases show that the problem was isolated.
The officers and divisions that bore some collateral blame or were "falsely accused" have been recovering, as well, Jordan said.
"Internally, we've come together very well," he said. "I think the biggest emotions to overcome were people that were wrongly accused. That's always hard if you're an honest cop and someone accuses you of being corrupt."
At least 16 lawsuits have been filed in state and federal court as a result of the corruption, claiming that the city and various officials bear responsibility for the actions of corrupt police officers that resulted in wrongful arrests and imprisonment. The city has been dismissed from seven cases but is still a defendant in nine cases - all in federal court.
On June 4, a U.S. district judge ruled that one of the suits could go to jury trial, the first such ruling in the wake of the corruption trials. Bobby Wayne Haley, 58, filed his lawsuit in Tulsa federal court in June 2010 after being released from prison, where he had served four years of a 22-year sentence in a federal cocaine case.
The June 4 ruling in his case could set a precedent for other civil cases pending against the city to also go to trial.
At least 48 people have been freed from prison or had their cases modified because of civil rights violations or problems with their cases stemming from the police corruption.
Judges more skeptical
The World attempted to contact several officers who were involved in the trials directly or through their former attorneys. None could be reached for comment.
The grand jury probe and court records named three Tulsa police officers as unindicted alleged co-conspirators who have never faced charges.
"I think reading that cops had been arrested emboldened some people thinking that we may be very careful and back off because we didn't want any publicity," Jordan said.
"I think you will find that the vast majority (of criminals) found that that was not true, and they were still arrested for their crimes. And we're going to keep on doing business as usual - putting bad guys in jail."
Kevin Adams, a Tulsa lawyer who has helped five wrongfully convicted people gain release, has been involved in at least one lawsuit against the city. Adams said he doesn't think much has changed with the department.
"All you hear is, 'Bad guy, bad guy, bad guy,' " Adams said. "I think they just have the wrong mentality. ... You can't call someone else bad without calling yourself good. And if they are bad and you're good, then you can justify in your mind whatever it requires in order to catch the guy."
Adams said the change he has seen since the corruption cases has been from judges who are more skeptical when he is defending clients.
Drummond said he thinks the Tulsa Police Department has improved greatly and that new policies sparked by the corruption trials have strengthened cases prosecuted by the Tulsa County District Attorney's Office.
"When they are using informants, we are more in the loop," Drummond said. "We know a lot more of what's going on over there."
'You lie, you die'
With prosecutors filing 5,000 to 6,000 cases a year based on law enforcement investigations, Drummond said trust is key to the judicial system.
"There's no way our office can oversee or micromanage every officer on the street, just like the judge can't micromanage every attorney in my office," Drummond said.
Tulsa Mayor Dewey Bartlett said the period since the trials has been a time of rehabilitation resulting in much better policing of Tulsa.
"We've cleaned up the problems," Bartlett said. "We've quite aggressively supported the investigation and the judicial proceedings."
Bartlett said the public's trust "was obviously put in jeopardy by a few people that were not playing by the rules."
He credited Jordan and his staff with implementing changes in policy that have been well received.
Jordan said the policy changes - including a "you lie, you die" policy, meaning any officer who is found to have lied about a case will be fired, and stricter regulations on confidential informants - have helped officers do their jobs.
Following the police corruption trials, only one officer, Officer Sandy Bayles, was terminated or otherwise punished under the "duty to be truthful" policy.
According to Bayles' personnel order, she entered false information on a Tulsa Police Citizen Crime Report and a petition for a protective order in 2011. Bayles also gave "untruthful statements" during an Internal Affairs interview, the order states.
Another major policy change regarded use and documentation of confidential informants. The issue was a linchpin in the trials, which included testimony that officers falsified informants and used others to deal drugs.
Informants reviewed
Jordan said confidential informants are now reviewed on a regular basis to establish that they are viable.
"Informants are affirmed and reaffirmed," he said. "Part of the problem is we (thought we) were such an honest police department, so no one was looking for it."
The Police Department is also running financial background checks on potential new hires - in addition to standard criminal background checks - to try to identify any money problems candidates may have had, Jordan said.
Since 2008, complaints sent to Internal Affairs have dropped steadily - from 215 total complaints in 2008 to 105 last year, according to TPD records.
The year-to-date comparison of this year to 2012 also shows a drop - from 58 to 39.
The World requested all disciplinary records of officers and TPD employees since the first trial.
Tulsa police released 22 personnel orders related to disciplinary action that resulted in loss of pay, suspension or demotion.
Of the 22 actions, there were six terminations, including three related to the corruption trials. One termination involved an employee who was not an officer.
Eight officers and one employee had received suspensions without pay for a total time of 348 hours.
The highest penalty was a 120-hour suspension for an assault, and the lowest was one day - eight hours - for conduct unbecoming an officer, the records indicate.
Jordan said the legacy of the corruption scandal in the Tulsa Police Department will be as a learning experience.
Drummond agreed, saying improvements can continue to strengthen the system.
"We'll just take it one day at a time," he said.
Corruption scandal key players
 |
John K. Gray, retired Tulsa Police
officer
Hired in 1990, retired in May
2010
Pleaded guilty in federal
court to stealing money during
an FBI sting
Served four months in prison,
released in May 2012
Cooperated with prosecutors
|
 |
Jeff Henderson, former Tulsa Police
officer
Hired in 1995, fired in August
2011
Convicted on two counts
of civil right violations and six
counts of perjury
Sentenced to 42 months in
prison plus three months for
perjury last year
Serving time at a federal
prison in Yankton, S.D. Appeal is pending. Expected to be released in October.
|
 |
Brandon McFadden, former ATF
agent
Hired in 2002, resigned in
September 2009
Cooperated with prosecutors
After pleading guilty to drug
conspiracy, sentenced to 21
months in prison
Being held at a halfway
house under the supervision of
the Bureau of Prisons’ Dallas region. Scheduled
for release July 20.
|
 |
Harold R. Wells, retired Tulsa
Police officer
Hired in 1975, retired in May
2010
Convicted in 2011 on four
counts of drug trafficking
crimes and stealing U.S. funds
Sentenced to 10 years in
prison
Held at a federal prison in
Duluth, Minn. Appeal is pending.
Scheduled for release in
2020
|
 |
Nick DeBruin, former Tulsa Police
officer
Hired in 1999, fired in January
2012 following Internal
Affairs review
Acquitted of six counts on
June 10, 2011
|
 |
Bruce Bonham, former Tulsa Police
officer
Bonham, hired in 1990, fired
in January 2012 following Internal
Affairs review
Acquitted of five counts on
June 10, 2011
|
 |
Bill Yelton, retired Tulsa Police
officer
Hired in 1985, retired in
May 2012 before an Internal
Affairs review of his case was
completed
Acquitted of seven counts in
August 2011
|
TPD Internal Affairs complaints 2008-2012
| 2008 |
163 from citizens |
52 from administration |
215 total |
| 2009 |
143 from citizens |
56 from administration |
199 total |
| 2010 |
106 from citizens |
53 from administration |
159 total |
| 2011 |
113 from citizens |
45 from administration |
158 total |
| 2012 |
72 from citizens |
33 from administration |
105 total |
Jarrel Wade 918-581-8367
jarrel.wade@tulsaworld.com
Original Print Headline: Tulsa Police say trust restored
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