In April, people from across the country were focused on southeastern Oklahoma, where four public officials including the sheriff were allegedly recorded having a violent and racist conversation. But reporter Chris Willingham at the McCurtain Gazette will tell you a pattern of corruption at the sheriff’s office led up to the recordings.
We spoke with Willingham about his coverage leading up to the explosive recordings, the state attorney general’s decision to not charge the sheriff, and what’s next for him. The following interview has been edited for length and clarity
MAX BRYAN: If you don't mind, can you just give a maybe a quick summary of the events that kind of led up to that Flashpoint incident?
CHRIS WILLINGHAM: In the summer of 2001, I began hearing from officers hearing rumors of mishandling of evidence and of an affair between Sheriff Kevin Clardy and who was then the captain of investigations, Alicia Manning, who had only been an officer for three years at that point. These officers were urging me — they wanted me to do something, they felt like this was wrong. But at that point, I felt like it was rumor. And that's not what the role of a newspaper is in a community, is to write, you know, affairs or rumors. So I kind of kept my ears open, and didn't do anything about it until November of 2021. There was a firing of two longtime jail employees, and several people quit in response to that. I wrote about that, and that kind of snowballed into what's now, I've written nearly 50 articles about the sheriff's department in the past two years.
MB: Was it you or someone else who left the recorder in the county commissioner's room (to get the recordings)?
CW: On March 6, that was my dad. My father, Bruce Willingham, is the publisher of the Gazette. He's covered county commissioner meetings for 40 years, he suspected that they were having meetings after the meeting, so to speak. So with items that were not on the agenda, he had noticed that they were voting on things prior to that, that were not listed on the agenda, which is a misdemeanor, and it's minor stuff, but it is, you know, we hold our elected officials accountable. We had no clue what he would be getting when he plays the recorder.
MB: What have you been doing since that story broke?
CW: The story is ongoing, so I mean, I'm working on another piece this week, in fact... it seems like they continue to do things that are — I just kind of hold my hands up in the air, and I can't believe it. And I think a lot of people here feel the same way. For the entire two years that this is going on, I kept thinking, 'I'm writing another article. This looks really bad. Someone is going to step in and do something about this at some point.' And that just never happened.
MB: That was actually going to be my next question, is what is currently the the overall attitude, the overall feeling in McCurtain County as it relates to the sheriff's office and the county commissioners?
CW: The people in that recording have really big families here that go back generations, and their their families are really angry about what we've done. But I think overall, the community is very supportive and wants to see a change in our sheriff's department and wants to get our county back to normality back to just doing regular business here.
MB: So Attorney General Gantner Drummond announced he isn't taking action against the sheriff, correct?
CW: Yes.
MB: And so do you agree with his decision?
CW: It really shocked me. I think if I had said the things that they said, or anyone had said the things that they said, we'd be facing charges. I don't understand it. I think they were thorough. I think the OSBI was very thorough, and they did their jobs. I just don't understand the decision.
MB: Are there any laws you could point to that the attorney general could use to take action against the sheriff and others?
CW: I think at a minimum threatening to perform an act of violence, which again, is a misdemeanor, and it's minor, but he's the highest elected law enforcement official in this county. And he's saying these terrible things making threats. And we're supposed to hold law enforcement to a higher standard, and this is certainly not that.
MB: You alluded a little bit to this next question, you answered it a little bit earlier. But what's next for McCurtain County?
CW: We have a county, a community movement here called McCurtain County Movement 2023. I'm not part of that, they're independent. And when my the first big story broke with the recording, they formed very quickly. They've been vigilant. I mean, even with the Attorney General's decision, it didn't seem like they let that get them down. They keep fighting for change in our sheriff's department and in our county government, and I just applaud their efforts.
MB: And what is next for Chris Willingham?
CW: This whole situation over the last two years, it's really made me jaded to this county somewhat, and I just don't want to raise my children here anymore. So we are in the process of moving to Tulsa, actually — just, you know, going out in public here is a little different than it used to be.
