Tulsa will pay out a quarter of a million dollars to a woman and her attorneys who accused police of wrongfully arresting her in 2021.
Altaneisha Gatling said Tulsa police arrested her because she didn’t voluntarily tell officers she had a gun, which hasn’t been required in Oklahoma since 2019. Gatling's complaint says a warrant was wrongly issued to her on these grounds, which cost her a job and led to her arrest.
Tulsa police declined to comment on the case, which listed officer Christopher Beyerl and the city as defendants.
According to attorney Paul Gee, a man who was referred to Gatling was driving her and her 5-year-old in his car to help her move apartments.
Tulsa police pulled over the driver when he stopped at a gas station after driving erratically, said city attorney Komron Takmil.
"When backup arrived on scene, they recognized the driver of the vehicle, they determined he was a named shooter in a prior case, and he was also a suspect in a vehicle theft where a firearm was stolen," said Takmil.
During the vehicle search, Beyerl asked Gatling if she had a gun, and she confirmed she had a gun and a concealed carry license in her fanny pack. Beyerl told her the law requires her to tell officers if she has a gun without being asked.
Gatling's complaint says this misinterpretation of the law was the reason for her arrest warrant three months later, which cost her a job she would have been offered if she had passed a background check.
Takmil said Gatling's public defender "immediately realized" there was a mistake upon taking her case.
City council unanimously approved the $250,000 settlement Wednesday following a ruling from federal Judge Gregory Frizzell.
"We thought that the officer was entitled to qualified immunity because officers are entitled to make mistakes, and they do make mistakes. But in this case, the difference was the time that passed between the incident and when the probable cause affidavit was submitted."
Takmil said a reason for the mistake was that Gatling was searched immediately after the 2021 ransomware attack on the city's software systems. Because of this, Tulsa police had to enter reports by hand.
But TPD's report system also came back online between the search and when the warrant was issued.
"The federal court judge ruled that since he had three months from the day of the incident to research the law, that there was no excuse for being wrong," Takmil said.
When Councilor Phil Lakin asked why the district judge who signed the warrant didn't catch Beyerl's mistake, Takmil said the court's caseload led the federal judge to put the onus to get it right back on the city.
Takmil told councilors part of the reason the judge landed on $250,000 was because Gatling needs the money to have her record expunged. Councilor Christian Bengel said TPD's mistake should be erased from the system because of the city's admission of wrong, and because the mistake will follow Gatling in the future.
Councilor Lori Decter Wright asked if there was a way for TPD's officers to be apprised of new laws.
"I just want to make sure we circle back and understand for the public and ourselves the outcome of something like this," Decter Wright said.
