Long-time Tulsa police officers are getting ready for retirement after the ends of their careers were delayed, complicating a public safety picture critics say lacks oversight.
The Tulsa Police Department has repeatedly said it’s short-staffed by about 100 officers. To keep veteran cops from leaving, Oklahoma Senate Bill 102 was passed in 2024, becoming law following an override of Gov. Kevin Stitt’s veto. It increased the police pension multiplier from 2.5% to 3% for each year of service after 25 years on the force.
The bill was aimed at keeping veteran officers working by multiplying their retirement benefits if they were to stay on longer, according to Tulsa Fraternal Order of Police President Jeff Downs.
"It prevented some people that would have retired a couple years ago to wait," Downs said.
SB102 seemed to have achieved what it intended.
“It worked,” Downs said. “It almost stopped our retirements for a couple years. We had very few retire.”
However, those officers may now be looking to hang up their hats this year or next.
"Retirements are going to resume to where they were back in the day,” Downs said. "In July of this year, an officer with 30 years or more experience will leave and get paid about 15% more in retirement than if they would leave today. In 2027, it’d be anybody with 25 years or more.”
Both Downs and a spokesperson for TPD said there is no concrete, advance information on how many officers plan to retire in July.
Police departments nationwide have reported challenges in recruiting and retaining officers, with many turning to salary raises and signing bonuses. Former Mayor G.T. Bynum authorized a signing bonus for TPD officers in 2021.
“Pay has become a very important part,” said Downs.
Tulsa remains the only city to require police recruits to have bachelor's degrees, while other agencies across the country have lowered their standards for new hires.
When asked about whether lack of staffing could lead to less qualified police officers staying on the force, Downs doubted that was the case.
"If [officers] violate the rules, violate policy, they're subject to discipline," he said. "I don't think staffing is ever a part of the decision-making process on that."
Can police stay accountable when short-staffed?
Despite what TPD’s advocates say, research suggests that short-staffed police departments pose a higher risk of officer misconduct.
There are also risks of higher crime rates and longer response times to emergency calls.
Even with an educational minimum for officers, the Tulsa Police Department has faced scrutiny for officer behavior.
Downs disagrees shortages cause quality problems, characterizing lawsuits against police officers as something of an expected hazard. Tulsa’s FOP offers legal resources for police, which Downs said he always suggests members on the force keep in mind.
“Legal defense coverage is something that I recommend to anybody that’s a police officer.”
Police wrongdoing was at the heart of a $26.25 million settlement paid out by the city last year to William Henry Jamerson, who spent over two decades in prison for a rape he did not commit. The victim in the case, Kayleen Davis, advocated for his innocence and said Tulsa police urged her to name Jamerson even though she had never seen him before.
While Davis did not identify specific officers, Jamerson’s lawsuit against Tulsa claimed TPD Detectives John Hunter and Debbie Daniels “focused solely on convicting Jamerson of the crime” without investigating other leads.
A spokesperson for TPD confirmed that two of the officers named in Jamerson's lawsuit, Officers Kathleen Whitehead and James Slay, are still active on the force.
More recently, the city agreed to pay $800,000 to a sexual assault survivor who alleged Officers Jake Huff and Madelyn Sweger left her alone with her violent then-boyfriend. After the “deliberately indifferent” officers left the scene without notice, the man returned to the woman’s apartment and raped her.
The lawsuit alleged TPD has a “pattern and practice of allowing deprioritization of domestic violence victimization."
This month, Tulsa police are facing questions after shooting 33-year-old Michael Glunt, who had a history of mental health struggles, according to family. In a video statement, Glunt’s sister, Karmen, said deescalation was not prioritized before the shooting and that her brother’s death was avoidable. Police said the incident warranted the use of lethal force.
“There’s a difference between responding to a man with [a] gun,” Karmen Glunt said, “and responding to a suicidal, autistic man in crisis.”
Some Tulsans have called for greater reform of the police department to strengthen public trust.
Tulsa City Council recently heard from several members of the public urging them to consider a proposed charter amendment to create an Office of the Independent Monitor, a municipal body that would oversee police actions and discipline misconduct.
Such an amendment has been considered before but stalled after being introduced during the tenure of former Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum. Instead, a volunteer citizen advisory board was created to foster better communication between the public and the Tulsa Police Department.
