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Grand Jury Finishes Probe Into Tulsa County Sheriff's Office, Glanz To Resign

Tulsa County Sheriff Stanley Glanz at the 2014 groundbreaking of a new law enforcement training center.
Matt Trotter
/
KWGS Public Radio Tulsa
Tulsa County Sheriff Stanley Glanz at the 2014 groundbreaking of a new law enforcement training center.

A Tulsa County grand jury has concluded its probe into the Sheriff's Office, indicted embattled Sheriff Stanley Glanz, and called for his resignation.

The grand jury released its report Thursday afternoon, indicting Glanz on one misdemeanor count of refusal to perform his official duty by denying requests for information during an investigation into the Tulsa County Sheriff's Reserve Deputy program. The other misdemeanor count comes from Glanz taking a $600 monthly stipend for official county travel in his personal vehicle. Instead, Glanz used a Tulsa County-owned and fueled SUV for county business.

The grand jury wants to see the sheriff removed from office, but Glanz's attorney Scott Wood told KWGS Public Radio Tulsa's Matt Trotter that won't be necessary.

"He will resign in the immediate future, certainly before Nov. 10," attorney Scott Wood said, referring to the date when Glanz is due in court for a hearing on the two indictments.

Tulsa County District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler says he's asked Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt to appoint another prosecutor to the case, given Kunzweiler's office's relationship with the TCSO.

"It would only be appropriate for a full and fair opportunity for those allegations that any proceedings would be held and conducted by a different prosecuting office," Kunzweiler said.

A citizens  group called We The People Oklahoma led an 8,000-signature petition drive in May to empanel the grand jury after the April 2, 2015 shooting of Eric Harris. The unarmed suspect in a drug bust was fleeing sheriff's deputies when officers caught up to him and restrained him. Robert Bates, a 73-year-old former insurance executive and reserve deputy, shot Harris. He claimed it was an accident, having confused his stun gun with his service revolver. Bates has been charged with second-degree manslaughter.

Laurie Phillips with We The People Oklahoma said Glanz could face up to a year in jail and $1,000 in fines.

"The sheriff is entitled to a jury trial still, because it did come from a grand jury, but I mean, that is the worst," Phillips said. We The People Organizer Marq Lewis said the probe wasn't personal, but about the security of public safety for the City of Tulsa and Tulsa County.

The grand jury also made a series of  eight recommendationsto improve the Sheriff's Office:

1. The grand jury recommends that TSCO policies are adhered to closely and uniformly. 2. Although CLEET has a grandfather policy the grand jury suggests that the TSCO adopts an internal policy that even if a person has been certified by CLEET if they have been absent from law enforcement for more than 5 years they must complete the full application process, testing, and training requirements of a full-time deputy. 3. The grand jury finds it necessary that the TCSO establish and adhere to policies specifically regarding training and experience requirements for assignment by department. In specific, specialized units such as SOT, task forces, etc. 4. It has been determined that the method of training and personnel documentation compliance needs to be impvoved. The grand jury suggests a person or committee specifically tasked with making sure the training and personnel records are compelte, uniform and up to date. These records should be subject to a regular audit. 5. Better accountability of field training hours. 6. The grand jury recommends that at any time a transfer or reassignment occurs, a copy of the deputy's training records shall accompany that reassignment and be signed off on as complete and sufficient for the new assignment by the new chain of command. 7. The grand jury requests that TCSO make the internal affairs department more autonomous from the TCSO itself. In addition it is recommended that each and every investigation be assigned an internal affairs number. 8. The grand jury suggests that TCSO create some type of fully anonymous avenue for employees to report an issue. It is also suggested that these reports are documented and maintained.

The Tulsa World reports Glanz wasn't in the courtroom when the indictment was unsealed Wednesday, but he did issue a statement:

"I know that my decisions have caused some to criticize me both publicly and privately. As sheriff, I take responsibility for all decisions made by me or in my name, but I assure you they were all made in good faith. "I truly regret that any of my actions have led to the impaneling of this grand jury and the disruptions in the lives of the jurors and the witnesses."

The grand jury met over the course of 20 days, interviewing 32 witnesses and reviewing 164 exhibits. The body found that Bates received preferential treatment during his training as a reserve deputy. Bates and Glanz were friends, and Bates served as Glanz's campaign manager during his 2012 reelection.

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Brian Hardzinski is from Flower Mound, Texas and a graduate of the University of Oklahoma. He began his career at KGOU as a student intern, joining KGOU full time in 2009 as Operations and Public Service Announcement Director. He began regularly hosting Morning Edition in 2014, and became the station's first Digital News Editor in 2015-16. Brian’s work at KGOU has been honored by Public Radio News Directors Incorporated (PRNDI), the Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters, the Oklahoma Associated Press Broadcasters, and local and regional chapters of the Society of Professional Journalists. Brian enjoys competing in triathlons, distance running, playing tennis, and entertaining his rambunctious Boston Terrier, Bucky.
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