Tulsa Police

Tulsa Police Department Sgt. Craig Johnson was laid to rest on Thursday.

After a service at Victory Church, a procession carried the 15-year veteran's body to the grave site at Floral Haven.

The service and burial were closed to reporters at the request of his family, which includes a wife and two children.

Johnson died June 30 after being shot multiple times during a June 29 traffic stop for what police say were expired tags. He had arrived at the scene to offer backup to rookie officer Aurash Zarkeshan, who was also shot multiple times.

TULSA, Okla. (AP) — A man suspected of killing a Tulsa police officer had threatened to kill the officer during the man’s run-in with local police years prior, according to police records.

David Anthony Ware, 32, is being held in the Tulsa County jail on multiple charges in connection to the fatal shooting of Tulsa Police Sgt. Craig Johnson, 45, in June and the shooting of Officer Aurash Zarkeshan, 26.

A man in jail for allegedly driving another man from the scene of the shooting of two Tulsa Police officers attempted to hang himself.

Tulsa County jail staff found Matthew Hall unresponsive on the floor of his cell early Tuesday evening with a sheet tied around his neck.

Medical staff were able to resuscitate him.

Hall is accused of driving David Ware away from 21st Street and 89th East Avenue on June 29, when Ware allegedly shot TPD Sgt. Craig Johnson and Officer Aurash Zarkeshan during a traffic stop for expired tags.

A Tulsa police officer seriously injured in a June 29 shooting continues to improve.

The Tulsa Police Department said Tuesday afternoon Officer Aurash Zarkeshan is now breathing on his own, able to communicate with his family and is strong enough to stand.

Zarkeshan and Sgt. Craig Johnson were both shot multiple times and in the head during a traffic stop. Johnson died the next day.

The accused shooter, David Ware, is being held without bond on charges of first-degree murder and shooting with intent to kill.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A crash that injured three Oklahoma troopers on motorcycles during a procession for a fatally shot Tulsa police officer started when one of the troopers struck the rear bumper of a SUV on the shoulder of the road, authorities said.

TULSA, Okla. (AP) — One of the two Tulsa Police Department officers who were shot during a traffic stop has died, authorities said Tuesday.

Police Chief Wendell Franklin said Sgt. Craig Johnson died Tuesday. He said Johnson was shot multiple times during the Monday attack, including one shot that was “critical.”

Franklin described Johnson’s death as a “tremendous loss” to the police department.

Citing no evidence, the head of Tulsa's local police union claimed in a statement that a "national anti-police narrative" played a role in the shooting of two Tulsa police officers during a traffic stop early Monday morning.

"As I've spoken with police overnight and into this morning, we can't help but see the work of the national anti-police narrative here," says Jerad Lindsey, chairman of the Tulsa Fraternal Order of Police, in the Monday statement. 

Two Tulsa Police Department officers are in critical condition, "fighting for their lives," following a shooting during a traffic stop early Monday morning, officials say.

At a press conference Monday afternoon, TPD Chief Wendell Franklin identified the officers as Sgt. Craig Johnson, a 15-year veteran, and Officer Aurash Zarkeshan, who completed police training only last month and had been on patrol for just six weeks.

A Tulsa fire station was briefly closed this week for cleaning and many of its firefighters placed under quarantine after a member of the Tulsa Fire Department assigned to that station exhibited symptoms of COVID-19.

TFD Chief Michael Baker told reporters at a Wednesday press conference that Fire Station 24 at 3600 N. Peoria was shut down for cleaning and disinfecting overnight from Tuesday into Wednesday, but had since reopened.

With local officials repeatedly stressing the message that mask-wearing is crucial to slowing the spread of COVID-19 -- and even considering making it mandatory and enforceable by law -- the head of the Tulsa Police Department says officers don't always wear masks because covering their faces can interfere with their jobs.

"The reason why you don't always see our officers wearing masks is because they need to have that facial expression," Chief Wendell Franklin told reporters at a Wednesday press conference at police headquarters.

Responding to comments from a Trump campaign official that "local law enforcement" was partially responsible for a smaller than expected crowd at the BOK Center Saturday for President Donald Trump's reelection rally, the Tulsa Police Department issued a statement describing only a short interruption.

Calling Sheila Buck's nationally televised arrest outside the BOK Center on Saturday an "outrage," the American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma has called for charges to be dropped.

Buck, a Tulsa teacher, was wearing an "I Can't Breathe" t-shirt when, according to a statement from the Tulsa Police Department, the Trump campaign requested she be removed. Buck claimed to hold a ticket to the rally.

Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum on Wednesday had choice words for Tulsans who refuse to follow public health guidelines during the current rise in coronavirus infections.

"If Tulsans are not willing to take that kind of responsibility to protect one another, then don't be surprised when you see your numbers increase," he said, after describing how few people he sees wearing masks in the city. "We have a responsibility to protect each other through this, through responsible behavior in our daily lives."

Following another public relations black eye, as footage of an incident in which Tulsa police officers handcuffed two Black children in north Tulsa for allegedly jaywalking aired on national news networks, the Tulsa Police Department has issued a new statement on the incident.

The high-ranking Tulsa police officer who came under international scrutiny last week for his comments that systemic racism in policing "just doesn't exist" and that, based on his reading of research, American law enforcement officers shoot Black Americans "about 24% less than we probably ought to be based on the crimes being committed," appeared on Fox News' "Tucker Carlson Tonight" on Friday.

This article was updated at 10:52 a.m., June 10th, to include a response from the Mayor's Office.

With police brutality and institutional racism in the national spotlight following last month's killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police, Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum issued a statement Wednesday morning addressing growing controversies involving his administration and the Tulsa Police Department.

The Tulsa Police Department released body-camera footage from an encounter between officers and two Black teens in north Tulsa who they say were stopped for jaywalking. 

In a statement, TPD Capt. Richard Meulenberg said the video was posted "in the continued effort to be transparent with our community."

TPD says the incident occurred on Thursday, June 4th, on the 1300 block of North Osage Drive. Video appears to show an officer running after the two teenagers. When he reaches them, he grabs one from behind.

Another night of protests in Tulsa ended with police and the National Guard using gas to disperse demonstrators.

A young group of about 50 started protesting at the Tulsa Hills shopping center at 71st Street and U.S. 75. That demonstration was peaceful.

The National Guard and Tulsa Police shut down a demonstration in the area of 71st Street and Memorial Drive that went late into the night, devolved into vandalism and ended with at least three arrests.

Pepper balls and gas were used to disperse the crowd, which broke apart into smaller groups, some of which attempted to loot businesses in the retail corridor.

Businesses were damaged all the way up to 61st Street and Memorial.

In a Wednesday afternoon update, the Tulsa Police Department said its search area for two missing toddlers had "dramatically widened" after a child's body was found in the Verdigris River.

Miracle Crook, 3, and Tony Crook, 2, have been missing from the Shoreline Apartments in east Tulsa since Friday. Tuesday afternoon, TPD Chief Wendell Franklin said the search for them had turned into a "recovery effort" after newfound video showed the children disappear into Mingo Creek.

Tulsa police continued their search on Tuesday for a 3-year-old girl and 2-year-old boy missing from an east Tulsa apartment complex.

Miracle and Tony Crook were last seen around 8:15 Friday morning in a convenience store with their mother, Donisha Willis. An apartment complex security camera captured the children walking alone around 10:15 a.m.

The Oklahoma Highway Patrol brought in a flat-bottomed airboat to help police search Mingo Creek from near the Shoreline Apartments to around 36th Street North.

Police will continue their search today for two Tulsa toddlers missing since Thursday.

Miracle Crook, 3,  and her brother, 2-year-old Tony Crook, were last seen around 10:15 a.m. Friday on an apartment complex security camera. About two hours earlier, they were seen in a convenience store with their mother, Donisha Willis, who does not have custody of them.

Tulsa police are looking for a 2-year-old boy and 3-year-old girl who went missing on Thursday.

Tony and Miracle Crook were last seen by a family member Thursday at the Shoreline Apartments in the 2200 block of 96th East Avenue.

A convenience store security camera captured the children on video with their mother around 8:15 a.m. on Friday. A post on the Tulsa Police Department Facebook page said the children's disappearance does not currently meet the criteria set for an Amber Alert.