The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation is looking at an off-duty police officer in McCurtain County accused of pointing a gun at a man and calling him a racial slur.
Haworth police officer Jerry Neal Pollard allegedly made these threats after recordings surfaced of four McCurtain County officials allegedly making racist and violent remarks during a public meeting.
According to the probable cause affidavit, Alford Metals employee Bobby Young told OSBI that on April 24, Pollard drove a truck toward him and then saw Pollard pointing a rifle at him. He said Pollard yelled, “Run n****r run, you better run boy.”
Young said he didn’t leave, and that Pollard walked toward him. Young then told Pollard he needed to leave and that he was calling the police, to which Pollard said, “They already here,” the affidavit states.
Pollard left after he got his supplies from Alford Metals, the affidavit states.
Another Alford employee gave a similar account to OSBI about him pointing a gun at Young, but said he told Young, “Run boy run.” A video from the business shows Pollard leave the truck, pull a rifle from the backseat and walk toward the front, the affidavit states.
Court records show Pollard was charged with feloniously pointing a firearm but bonded out of jail on May 18. This offense carries up to 10 years in prison in Oklahoma.
McCurtain County sheriff’s officials confirmed Pollard is currently suspended from his role as a police officer.
The incident reportedly occurred less than two weeks after the McCurtain County Gazette published recordings of four McCurtain County officials allegedly lamenting not being able to lynch Black people, threatening to kill journalists and joking about an arson victim. The Oklahoma Attorney General’s office has confirmed it is investigating the county.
After the recordings surfaced, Governor Kevin Stitt called for the resignations of McCurtain County Commissioner Mark Jennings, Sheriff Kevin Clardy, Jail Administrator Larry Hendrix and Sheriff’s Capt. Alicia Manning. The next day, the sheriff’s office claimed the recordings appeared to be altered.
So far, only Jennings has stepped down. Hendrix has been placed on administrative leave.
The Oklahoma Sheriffs’ Association suspended Hendrix, Manning and Clardy from the organization.
In a wrongful death lawsuit against the sheriff and other county officials, attorney Mitchell Garrett included a claim he hopes will trigger discovery into systemic abuses by the sheriff’s office.
