OKPOLICY.ORG
In The Know is a daily synopsis of Oklahoma policy-related news and blogs. Inclusion of a story does not necessarily mean endorsement by the Oklahoma Policy Institute. You can sign up here to receive In The Know by e-mail.
Video has been released of the moment a reserve sheriff officer in Tulsa shot and killed Eric Harris by mistake. The reserve officer, Bob Bates, a 73-year-old insurance executive, told police he had thought he was firing his Taser stun gun. Tulsa Police Sgt. Jim Clark said his investigation determined that Bates committed no crime, even referring to him as a “victim.” The Tulsa World reported that the 130-person reserve deputy squad is full of “a lot of wealthy people” and donors, some of whom are participating routinely in operations like the undercover investigation. An attorney who is representing Harris’ family is questioning several claims in the sheriff’s report.
A judge ruled Friday that the state’s lengthy delay in providing records on a controversial execution could be a violation of the Open Records Act and ordered state officials to provide reasons for extensive redactions to documents it has already provided. Sheriff John Whetsel has drawn up a “framework” aimed at winning voter approval for a half-cent sales tax to finance a new Oklahoma County jail. Deficiencies at the jail have resulted in lawsuits, inmate deaths and a federal civil rights investigation, and the current effort is at least the fourth run at resolving problems with the jail since 2003. A children’s shelter being shut down due to a federal class-action settlement over Oklahoma’s child welfare system is being looked at as the location for a new juvenile justice facility.
The Tulsa World editorial board endorsed a bill that would give judges more discretion to ignore mandatory minimum sentences. Oklahoma has on the books at least 122 mandatory minimum sentences that have contributed to the state’s high incarceration rates. Police are investigating vandalism at the Islamic Society of Edmond, which alleged pieces of pork were left in the parking lot and on door handles of the mosque. Oklahoma Watch reported that March of last year was the deadliest month for prescription drug overdoses in Oklahoma since authorities began tracking such deaths in 2001. For Oklahomans ages 25 to 64, unintentional poisoning by prescription drug overdose is the leading cause of injury death.
A record-breaking flu season that killed 107 people in Oklahoma may be winding down. State Rep. David Dank, 76, died Friday in his Oklahoma City home. Rep. Dank was a passionate advocate for tax credit reform, and in January he spoke on a panel about the issue at OK Policy’s State Budget Summit. Former state Sen. Randy Brogdon defeated incumbent Dave Weston to become Oklahoma Republican Party chairman. A rural economic development program promoted by Oklahoma State University has seen limited success because of limited cooperation between rural communities.
The Tulsa World examined difficulties Oklahomans have faced trying to get compensation from the Oklahoma Department of Transportation for pothole damage to their cars. The number of rigs exploring for oil and natural gas in the U.S. fell below 1,000 this week, down from 1,831 active rigs one year ago. The Number of the Day is $2.55 – the average cost for meals per inmate per day in Oklahoma correctional institutions. In today’s Policy Note, Stateline examines efforts to do away with a quirky “double deduction” tax break that benefits mostly higher-income taxpayers in Oklahoma and six other states. OK Policy has recommended doing away with the “double deduction” as a way to close the state’s $611 million budget hole.
In The News
Video shows Tulsa police killing man as officer uses gun not Taser ‘by mistake’
Video has been released of the moment a reserve police officer in Tulsa, Oklahoma, shot and killed a man by mistake. The reserve officer, Bob Bates, a 73-year-old insurance executive, told police he had thought he was firing his Taser stun gun at Eric Courtney Harris, 44, a convicted felon who a police report on the incident said was being arrested after having sold a gun to an undercover officer.
Attorney questions official report in fatal shooting by Tulsa County reserve deputy
A man inadvertently shot and killed by a reserve deputy was “uncooperative and combative” as firefighters attempted to render aid to him before he went into cardiac arrest, according to a Tulsa Fire Department report. However, attorney Dan Smolen disagrees with that characterization and also says the report calls into question statements made by the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office about Eric Courtney Harris.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Time for a thorough review of Tulsa County reserve deputy program
A 73-year-old reserve deputy fatally shot a fleeing man during an April 2 undercover operation. Subsequently, Tulsa County Sheriff’s officials revealed that the sheriff’s 130-person reserve deputy squad is full of “a lot of wealthy people” and donors, some of whom are participating routinely in operations like the undercover investigation.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
State ordered to explain redaction of documents in Open Records Act lawsuit involving Lockett execution
A judge ruled Friday that the state’s lengthy delay in providing records to the Tulsa World on a controversial execution is a denial of the records. In her ruling, Oklahoma County District Judge Patricia Parrish denied a motion by attorneys for Gov. Mary Fallin and the Department of Public Safety to dismiss the open records lawsuit brought by the World and Enterprise Editor Ziva Branstetter.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Tax plan to build new Oklahoma County jail takes shape
Sheriff John Whetsel has drawn up a “framework” aimed at winning voter approval for a half-cent sales tax to finance a new Oklahoma County jail. Replacing the troubled jail is among four public safety initiatives intended to address costly deficiencies that have resulted in lawsuits, inmate deaths and a federal civil rights investigation. The current effort is at least the fourth run at resolving problems with the jail since 2003.
Everything is on the table for next use of the Laura Dester Shelter
The Juvenile Justice Center that taxpayers approved to build a year ago remains homeless, but officials hope the public can see possibilities at the Laura Dester Shelter. Tulsa’s shelter is going to close due to a settlement agreement in a federal class-action lawsuit and changes in how foster care systems operate, based on research and evidence-based practices.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
Oklahoma has a chance to be smart on crime with House Bill 1518
Oklahoma incarcerates more offenders per capita than nearly any other state and without a commensurate increase in public safety. More than half of inmates are behind bars for nonviolent offenses, costing taxpayers more than $20,000 per inmate annually, almost three times what the state spends per student in public schools.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
See also: Oklahoma’s mandatory minimum punishments too often don’t fit the crime from the OK Policy Blog
Edmond police investigating report of pork being thrown at entrance, parking lot of mosque
The Edmond Police Department confirmed Sunday night it received a vandalism report from officials at the Islamic Society of Edmond, which alleged pieces of pork were left in the parking lot and at the entrance of the mosque earlier that day. The Oklahoma chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations called on state and federal law enforcement to investigate the incident, which they consider to be a possible hate crime.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
The Deadliest Month of Prescription Overdoses
Tina Orr always always feared she’d follow her father to an early grave. Orr, who lived in northwest Oklahoma City, withered in the last years of her life before succumbing to a prescription drug overdose at the age of 35, her sister, Dannah Krone, said.
Read more from Oklahoma Watch.
See also: Oklahoma’s biggest drug problem isn’t what you think from the OK Policy Blog.
No new flu-related deaths in Oklahoma, season may be ending
A record-breaking flu season in Oklahoma may be winding down. The Oklahoma State Department of Health reports no additional deaths in the past week after 107 people died and about 2,200 were hospitalized due to the virus since the season began Sept. 28. The previous record of 72 deaths set last year was broken in February.
State Rep. David Dank dead at 76
State Rep. David Dank, 76, died Friday in his Oklahoma City home. Oklahoma County Commissioner Brian Maughan, a close friend, found Dank about 5 p.m. after being unable to reach him all day. An Oklahoma City police spokesman said Dank appeared to have died of natural causes. Maughan said it appeared he had suffered a heart attack.
Oklahoma Republican Party selects former legislator Randy Brogdon as chairman
Former state Sen. Randy Brogdon on Saturday was tapped as Oklahoma Republican Party chairman. Brogdon, a former lawmaker from Owasso, takes office immediately and will serve a two-year term. Incumbent GOP Chairman Dave Weston was eliminated in the first round of balloting. Brogdon defeated Pam Pollard, former party vice chairman, in the second round of balloting at 52 percent to 48 percent.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
High school loyalties block Oklahoma development program
A rural economic development program promoted by Oklahoma State University has seen limited success because several obstacles hampered cooperation, an OSU economic specialist said. The program, Stronger Economies Together, or SET, is a nationwide initiative designed to bring officials from rural communities together.
ODOT rarely pays for motorists’ pothole damage
Driving north on U.S. 169 near 76th Street North last March, Cathy Columbia saw it from a distance. It was illuminated in the beam of her headlights. Located in the outside portion of the passing lane, it resembled one she had encountered a few days earlier on the same highway. The encounter with the pothole blew out the left front tire of Columbia’s car. It also left her angry. The encounter was the second time she had blown a tire driving the highway in a matter of weeks.
Read more from the Tulsa World.
U.S. Drilling Rig Count Falls Below 1,000
Oilfield services company Baker Hughes Inc. says the number of rigs exploring for oil and natural gas in the U.S. declined by 40 this week to 988 amid depressed oil prices. It was the first time the weekly count was below 1,000 since September 2009. A year ago, 1,831 rigs were active.
Quote of the Day
“Many communities compete with each other and it comes from the Friday night high school sports. The three main cities here (Weatherford, Clinton and Elk City) all compete in the same high school class in football, basketball and baseball, so that was a barrier. Their competitive nature came through.”
-Larry Wright, who consults with rural economic development organizations in western Oklahoma, speaking about obstacles to encourage regional cooperation on growing the economy (Source)
Number of the Day
$2.55
Average cost for meals per inmate per day in Oklahoma correctional institutions.
Source: Department of Corrections.
See previous Numbers of the Day here.
Policy Note
States Look at Axing ‘Double Deduction’ Tax Break
A quirky “double deduction” tax break that benefits mostly higher-income taxpayers is halfway to extinction in Vermont, and other states may follow suit in their pursuit of revenue to plug budget gaps or fund priorities. In Vermont and six other states – Oklahoma, Arizona, Hawaii, Louisiana, North Dakota and Georgia – taxpayers who itemize their deductions are allowed to deduct what they paid in state and local taxes on their state income tax returns, just as they can on their federal tax returns.
You can sign up here to receive In The Know by e-mail.
