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Feds, police search Tulsa's juvenile center in 'multiple' misconduct probes

A Homeland Security agent is seen outside the Tulsa County Family Center for Juvenile Justice during the execution of a search warrant on the facility Friday, July 12, 2024.
Courtesy
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Tulsa Police
A Homeland Security agent is seen outside the Tulsa County Family Center for Juvenile Justice during the execution of a search warrant on the facility Friday, July 12, 2024.

Tulsa police are serving a search warrant on the Tulsa County Family Center for Juvenile Justice as the facility remains under intense scrutiny due to extensive allegations of abuse and neglect.

Police announced Friday that they served the warrant with the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office and District Attorney’s Office, the Oklahoma Office of Juvenile Affairs and Homeland Security.

TPD Capt. Richard Meulenberg said the officers and agents were still searching the center as of 2 p.m. Friday.

The search warrant comes after detention officer Jonathan Hines was charged with sexually abusing a youth in the center. So far, Hines and officer Dquan Doyle have been charged with sex crimes, a civil rights lawsuit over conditions at the center was filed by 30 youth, and the district juvenile judge has moved to forfeit his oversight of the center.

Meulenberg said the search warrant was “obviously” in response to recent issues at the center.

“We went and executed and served a warrant to gather evidence related to those crimes, to see how expansive it was, to see what else was happening there,” Meulenberg said. “So we’re in there gathering anything that could help us illustrate what had been taking place.”

Meulenberg could not confirm Friday if authorities plan to arrest anyone else from the center.

“It’s entirely possible that more charges could come. It’s entirely possible more evidence could unveil itself. But we can share that with people after we start combining everything and seeing where we are with this,” he said.

The center was placed on probation Tuesday. It was previously on probation in 2023, though it's unclear why the status was lifted. According to the lawsuit, concerns in 2023 included “youth being kept in their rooms/isolated, education concerns, and problems handling grievances and their resolutions."

Max Bryan is a news anchor and reporter for KWGS. A Tulsa native, Bryan worked at newspapers throughout Arkansas and in Norman before coming home to "the most underrated city in America." Several of Bryan's news stories have either led to or been cited in changes both in the public and private sectors.