Tulsa City Council has rejected an ordinance that would have established a public safety oversight system including an independent office to review police investigations.
It was the abstention by councilor Anthony Archie that doomed it.
The 2nd district councilor said he supports the idea in general but, he heard enough concerns from people both for and against public safety oversight to keep him from voting for this version of the ordinance. He hopes a better version can be crafted.
Archie said, “As I look at the policy, there are some modifications that I would like to see in it, that today in the meeting, our Public Safety Director, Laurel Roberts, and Karen Gilbert , our chair, said that they were amenable to. So, let’s have those conversations.”
One of the ordinance’s authors, councilor Lori Decter-Wright, is also indicating that the effort to establish a public safety review system isn’t over. She’s points out that passing such a measure through council is only one way to get it done.
"Charter amendment’s another way," said Decter-Wright, "Charter amendment with the council agreeing to put it on the ballot for you all to vote on it, is one way to do it. The other way is for you all to collect signatures and put it on the ballot too.”
The ordinance, which would have created a professional office to review police investigations as well as actions by Tulsa’s other public safety departments, was rejected in a 4-to-4-to-1 vote. 5 votes were needed for passage.
