Tulsa Police said on Tuesday the first 30 days of a new initiative aimed at taking on an uptick in violent crime led to dozens of arrests and the seizure of more than 200 guns.
Chief Wendell Franklin said TPD crime analysts have been looking into more than 80 incidents going back to April to help officers’ on-the-ground investigations.
Franklin said officers from all uniformed divisions, in partnership with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, made 61 arrests, resulting in 115 felony charges being filed and 203 guns being seized.
"In all of this, this police department only utilized force in four instances, and that was moderate force. We did not get into a shooting, although we were definitely going after some really bad individuals," Franklin said.
Franklin said the biggest cache of guns recovered in a single arrest was 48.
"It is a concern when 15- and 16-year-olds are running around with guns, and it's not just handguns that we're talking about. We're talking about assault rifles and long guns that really wreak havoc on our streets," Franklin said.
Franklin said many of the guns officers have seized were stolen, several of them taken from unlocked cars at Tulsa homes. In the past several months, Tulsa has had killings where dozens of rounds were fired, as well as a rolling gun fight in midtown.
Franklin has attributed a rash of shootings this year to gang feuds. He said the new investigative approach will continue for the foreseeable future.
