An assistant district attorney in the state of Oklahoma lived rent-free in a house confiscated by local law enforcement under the practice of asset forfeiture. His office paid the utility bills. He remained there for five years, despite a court order to sell the house at auction.

Another district attorney used $5,000 worth of confiscated funds to pay back his student loans.

These are just a few of the gems unearthed during a recent hearing on Oklahoma authorities’ liberal use of asset forfeiture to take property from suspected criminals and spend it on personal enrichment.OklahomaWatch.org reports:

Under state law, the money or proceeds from forfeited property are supposed to be spent on enforcement of drug laws and drug-abuse prevention and education. …

Regarding use of the property or money after seizure, audits of district attorney’s accounts by the State Auditor and Inspector’s Office have found the assets in a number of cases were misused or not accounted for.

A 2009 audit of the district attorney’s office that represents Beaver, Cimarron, Harper and Texas counties found that a Beaver County assistant district attorney began living rent-free in a house obtained in a 2004 forfeiture. A judge had ordered the house sold at an auction, but the prosecutor lived there through 2009.

Utility bills and repairs made to the house were paid out of the district attorney’s supervision fee account, the audit states.

The audit recommended the house be sold and the supervision fee account be reimbursed.

“These conditions resulted in expenditures that were not for the enforcement of controlled dangerous substances laws, drug abuse prevention and drug abuse education,” the report stated.

State Sen. Kyle Loveless, a Republican, has sponsored a bill to make these practices less common. He would prohibit asset forfeiture unless a suspect was actually convicted of a crime, and stipulate that the money go to the state’s general fund.

It’s easy to see why these reforms are necessary—not just in Oklahoma, but everywhere. Allowing local cops and prosecutors to keep the spoils creates perverse incentives to plunder with reckless abandon.

Unsurprisingly, cops are desperate to preserve the practice:

Law enforcement officials counter that forfeiture is necessary to combat drug trafficking and say that abuses are rare. They say Loveless is hyping the issue and using scare tactics to push his bill.

“I’m very concerned that’s the line he’s taking in that,” said District Attorney Greg Mashburn, who represents Cleveland, Garvin and McClain counties and sits on the commission overseeing the Oklahoma State Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs. …

Comanche County Sheriff Kenny Stradley, who also sits on the Bureau of Narcotics commission, said Loveless’ bill would cripple law enforcement agencies’ counter-drug efforts.

“I know for a fact we all try to work very hard to rid this devil’s candy (drugs) off of our state. And for someone to try and push us back – sheriff’s departments, police departments – that’s how we continue our fight, is to take that money and go forward,” Stradley said. “That will set us back many, many, many years.”

We can’t stop people from having drugs unless we are allowed to steal more money has to be one of the least-convincing arguments for maintaining the drug war.

Tulsa County reserve sheriff’s deputy Robert Bates appears on NBC’s ‘Today Show’ on April 17, 2015

TULSA, Okla. — An Oklahoma judge on Tuesday ordered a grand jury investigation into the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office, which has been under scrutiny since a white reserve sheriff’s deputy fatally shot a black suspect in April.

Judge Rebecca Nightingale issued the order after an activist group submitted a petition aimed at compelling a grand jury investigation into Sheriff Stanley Glanz and his department.

The judge ruled that the petition complied with state laws and rejected a request for dismissal from Glanz, who argued the signatures were collected on “homemade forms.”

A community civil rights group called “We the People Oklahoma” submitted the petition on June 19 with more than 8,800 signatures calling for the probe into Glanz and the sheriff’s office.

Under Oklahoma law, if at least 5,000 of those signing the petition are verified as registered voters, a judge can summon prospective members of a grand jury within 30 days.

The request stems from allegations of special treatment, questionable reserve officer training and falsified records made in the aftermath of the April 2 death of Eric Harris, the group said.

The department has denied the allegations.

Robert Bates (pictured above), a 73-year-old reserve deputy, has been charged with second-degree manslaughter for shooting Harris, 44. Bates thought he was using a Taser instead of his gun, the Tulsa sheriff’s office said of the incident that was videotaped and shown in the media.

The case was one of many in recent months that raised questions about the role of race in U.S. policing.

The Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office is also under investigation by the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, which is looking into possible misconduct.

Reported by Lenzy Krehbiel-Burton for RawStory; Editing by Jon Herskovitz and Peter Cooney

Oklahoma Highway Patrolman Eric Roberts

SAPULPA, Okla. — A judge has decided that an Oklahoma highway patrol officer accused of raping and assaulting three women must stand trial for his alleged crimes.

Eric William Roberts, 42, was arrested in September after the Oklahoma Highway Patrol completed its investigation of Roberts, who was originally charged with over a dozen violent crimes.

The investigation determined that Roberts had turned his dashboard camera off during six traffic stops, including two where he is alleged to have committed the sexual assaults.

Related: Ohio Cop Who Killed Man Just Months After Being Hired Now Jailed for Raping a Teenaged Girl

Roberts was placed on administrative leave after an incident in July where a woman alleges he coerced her into having sex with him during a traffic stop. The woman filed a complaint against Roberts and contacted an Attorney, Kevin Adams. Adams filed a lawsuit alleging civil rights violations, and later amended the suit to include a separate case where Roberts is also accused of rape.

Creek County Special Judge Richard Woolery scheduled an arraignment for June 30 on counts of rape, indecent exposure, sexual battery, embezzlement, and bribery.

A flood “rescue mission” turned fatal for one Oklahoma man, who was shot and killed by a state trooper. Police claimed that the man did not want to leave his vehicle, argued and allegedly attacked officers as they tried to get him out of the water.

The incident took place some 20 miles outside of Tulsa when Okmulgee County state troopers came to the rescue of two men trying to save their car stranded at a roadway from rushing water on Friday.

The water levels were rising too rapidly, and the troopers we “worried about them getting swept away,” according to Capt. Paul Timmons who spoke of the incident with the press on Saturday.

“[The troopers] were trying to get them to come out of the water,” Timmons said. “(The men), for whatever reason, were just really upset about having to leave the vehicle there.”

When the two unfortunate drivers got to the dry land, at least one of them allegedly attacked the officers and was shot and killed, AP reports.

“It’s not real clear how it all transpired,” Timmons admitted. A weapon was reportedly recovered from one of the suspects, but it remains unclear whether the man fired at the troopers. The second man was arrested for assault and public intoxication. Their identities were not revealed.

Local news however reported the victim as a 35-year-old Nehemiah Fischer, a pastor of a local church, while the second man was identified as his brother.

Meanwhile the troopers did not suffer any injuries. The superiors are due to decide whether the officers should be placed on leave following the incident.

OKLAHOMA CITY — A bill that may prevent the public from accessing videos from police vehicles and body cameras has just passed the state Senate in Oklahoma, and is pending approval from governor Mary Fallin (R-OK).

The bill passed with a vote of 44-2 from the Oklahoma state Senate, and adds new exemptions to the state’s Open Records Act for police and other law enforcement agencies.

Oklahoma HB 1037 will allow police to suppress videos that depict acts of violence, nudity, or information that reveals the identity of crime victims, police officers, or informants.

State Senators David Holt (R-OK) and Marty Quinn (R-OK), as well as House Representative George Faught (R-OK), sponsored the bill, which was last amended in April.

The Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office has made changes to its reserve deputy program, which has come under scrutiny since a 73-year-old in the program fatally shot a suspect he meant to subdue with a Taser.

Sheriff Stanley Glanz said in a press release that reserve deputies cannot patrol alone. They must be partnered with certified deputies.

He also said the reserve program “advanced classification” will be postponed while every reserve deputy’s training is audited.

Robert Bates was classified as an advanced reserve deputy on April 2, when he was backing up other deputies and shot and killed suspect Eric Harris.

Eric Courtney Harris

Bates has said he meant to grab his Taser but pulled out his pistol instead. He pleaded not guilty to a charge of second-degree murder.

Training has become a major issue since the shooting, with the victim’s family alleging Bates didn’t have the proper training but was allowed to wear a uniform because he donated vehicles and other equipment to the Sheriff’s Office.

An internal inquiry by the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office in 2009 concluded that Bates was shown special treatment and that training policies were violated regarding his role with the agency.

The Tulsa World newspaper reported some supervisors in the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office were told to forge Bates’ records and were reassigned when they refused. The Sheriff’s Office denied the allegations in the newspaper’s report. It also declined a CNN interview to respond to the claims.

The Sheriff’s Office says it has 126 reserve deputies on the force.

According to the Tulsa World, police supervisors were instructed to falsify training records for the Tulsa reserve deputy who killed a man earlier this month when he accidentally fired his gun instead of a Taser. After releasing the names of the other two deputies involved in the deadly shooting, the Sheriff’s Office refused to provide more documents to support that the appropriate training was followed and completed in accordance with state requirements.

Robert Bates turns himself in to authorities at the Tulsa Jail in Tulsa, Okla., on Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Robert C. Bates—a 73-year-old reserve deputy who allegedly got the job thanks to his financial contributions—was ultimately charged with manslaughter for mistakenly shooting Eric Harris. But according to the Tulsa World, authorities first tried—apparently in vain—to cover up his lack of training.

Supervisors at the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office were ordered to falsify a reserve deputy’s training records, giving him credit for field training he never took and firearms certifications he should not have received, sources told the Tulsa World.

At least three of reserve deputy Robert Bates’ supervisors were transferred after refusing to sign off on his state-required training, multiple sources speaking on condition of anonymity told the World.

Additionally, Sheriff Stanley Glanz told a Tulsa radio station this week that Bates had been certified to use three weapons, including a revolver he fired at Harris. However, Glanz said the Sheriff’s Office has not been able to find the paperwork on those certifications.

A Tulsa County spokesperson tells the paper, “The training record speaks for itself. I have absolutely no knowledge of what you are talking about… There aren’t any secrets in law enforcement. Zero. Those types of issues would have come up.”

The sources’ claims are corroborated by records, including a statement by Bates after the shooting, that he was certified as an advanced reserve deputy in 2007.

An attorney for Harris’ family also raised questions about the authenticity of Bates’ training records.

Additionally, Sheriff Stanley Glanz told a Tulsa radio station this week that Bates had been certified to use three weapons, including a revolver he fired at Harris. However, Glanz said the Sheriff’s Office has not been able to find the paperwork on those certifications.

The sheriff’s deputy that certified Bates has moved on to work for the Secret Service, Glanz said during the radio interview.

“We can’t find the records that she supposedly turned in,” Glanz said. “So we are going to talk to her to find out if for sure he’s been qualified with those (weapons).”

Undersheriff Tim Albin was unavailable for comment Wednesday but in an earlier interview, Albin said he was unaware of any concerns expressed by supervisors about Bates’ training.

Staffers from Tulsa World are discussing below these recent development:

Sand Springs Cops said the fatal shooting of a mentally ill man over the weekend is “not just another police shooting.”In a news conference Monday afternoon, Deputy Chief of Police Mike Carter called the shooting an unavoidable tragedy.

Carter identified the man who was shot as 66-year-old Donald Allen.

Carter identified the shooter-officer as Brian Barnett, 25. He said Barnett joined the police department in 2014 from Creek County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputy Chief of Police Mike Carter.

Police say the Vietnam veteran was experiencing a mental health breakdown when “he rushed Barnett holding a loaded pistol, threatening to kill him.”

Carter said officers had been called to the 700 block of West Trinidad at about 8:15 on the morning of Saturday, April 11, 2015 because Allen was shooting a gun in his back yard.

In a 911 call played at the news conference, Allen’s wife tells police her husband is a paranoid schizophrenic who has been off his medication for a year. Allen is heard shouting in the background.

Carter said the department had contact with Allen in the past for mental health reasons and had taken weapons from him in the past.

Carter said Barnett’s body cam malfunctioned and didn’t record the incident. He said the last time the camera had worked properly was April 3, 2015. Officers are supposed to plug their cameras into the computerized system that automatically downloads the video once a shift.

The department doesn’t routinely look at officers’ video, Carter said, because there’s so much of it. Instead, the department accesses individual video when there’s an issue to be checked.

At the news conference, Carter tried to show body cam video from another officer who responded to the call but the video would only play for a few seconds. Carter said the video would show Allen went back into his house, but then came back outside.

Police said they will release the whole video to the media.

Barnett fired four times and hit Allen three times, Carter said. He said he did not want to give the impression that he or anyone in the department was blaming Allen for what happened.

“Mr. Allen is a victim. He’s a victim of mental illness, he’s a victim of the system.” Carter said the system isn’t doing enough to get people the mental health help they need.

“This was a tragic incident. It’s something we hope we are never placed in the position of happening again,” he said.

Allen’s wife has no hard feeling against the department, he added. He said the department expressed its sympathy and she said she understands why the officer had to take the actions he did.

The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation is involved in the case. Barnett is on routine, paid administrative leave.

“It does not appear our officers – including Officer Barnett – violated policy or violated state law,” Carter said.

Until Saturday, Carter said, the Sand Springs Police Department had not had a shooting incident involving an officer since 1998.

News9.com – Oklahoma City, OK – News, Weather, Video and Sports |

A Tulsa County reserve deputy who has been charged in a fatal shooting bought at least five automobiles and surveillance equipment for the undercover unit to which he was assigned, records show.

The incident was also not the first time Robert Bates has been involved in a use of force during an arrest while serving as a reserve deputy. Undersheriff Tim Albin told the Tulsa World that Bates used a Taser on a person during an arrest in the past but no policy violation occurred.

Reserve Deputy Robert Bates, left, was involved in the shooting of suspect Eric Harris, right, after mistaking his service weapon for a stun gun, accidentally killing him

Bates owns an insurance company and served as chairman of the Re-elect Sheriff (Stanley) Glanz Committee in 2012. Records show he donated $2,500 to Glanz’s campaign that year.

The Sheriff’s Office said Bates, 73, accidentally shot Eric Harris on April 2 after Harris fled from arrest and then fought with a deputy who tackled him. Bates claimed he thought he was holding a Taser when he pulled the trigger.

The fatal shooting occurred during an undercover gun operation involving the Sheriff’s Office’s Violent Crimes Task Force. Bates is one of about 140 volunteer reserve deputies working for the sheriff’s office.

Harris, 44, could have faced a life prison sentence in the case due to his extensive criminal history, Albin said. He was shot in the right axilla, the area under the joint that connects the arm to the shoulder, according to the state Medical Examiner’s Office.

Despite prior claims by the Sheriff’s Office that many other reserve officers donate items to the Sheriff’s Office, county records list only Bates as donating to the agency.

In a statement Monday, Harris’ family criticized the Sheriff’s Office for allowing Bates to serve in the undercover unit.

“We do not believe it is reasonable for a 73-year-old insurance executive to be involved in a dangerous undercover sting operation. We do not believe it is reasonable for Bob Bates to be carrying a gun that was not issued by TCSO. We do not believe it is reasonable — or responsible — for TCSO to accept gifts from a wealthy citizen who wants to be a ‘pay to play’ cop.”

Bates became a reserve deputy in 2008 and the following year began donating items to the Sheriff’s Office for the newly formed drug task force. Records show he donated three automobiles that year: 2008 and 2009 Dodge Chargers and a Crown Victoria.

He also donated a computer to be placed in one of the new cars, as well as a $5,000 “forensic camera” and lens kit.

In 2010, Bates donated a 2007 Ford F-150 and a 2010 Chevy Tahoe. He also donated a Motorola hand-held radio “to be used by the drug unit for surveillance work,” records state.

In 2011, he donated a 1997 Toyota Avalon for “use as an undercover car by the drug task force.”

Albin said Bates is the only reserve deputy to donate to the Sheriff’s Office “to that extent.”

“A lot of those guys will donate gear, will donate time, will pay for training, they will sponsor a baseball or softball team.”

He said many reserve deputies “are just working-class people that wanted to donate back to the community” by giving their time.

Sheriff Stanley Glanz said Monday that Bates is not the only reserve deputy to purchase cars for his office. At least two others — David Stone and Hastings Siegfried — have donated vehicles.

“They donate them to the Sheriff’s Office and use them while they’re working,” Glanz said.

He added that Siegfried and other reserve deputies have made their helicopters available to the Sheriff’s Office.

Reserve deputies fall into three categories based on experience and training.

Bates and other reserve deputies who have been a police officer are automatically designated as an “advanced reserve,” the highest reserve rank, Glanz said.

It is unclear why Bates left the Tulsa Police Department after serving exactly one year. Records show he started employment as a Tulsa police officer on Jan. 1, 1964 and his employment ended on Jan. 1, 1965.

His attorney, Clark Brewster, said: “I know he went through the academy and I don’t know the specifics of why he left.”

Albin said Bates was the only reserve to take part in the undercover operation and was stationed on the outskirts to help with containment. The undercover unit planned to execute a search warrant at Harris’ residence after his arrest.

“Bob generally carries a pepper ball gun that is used against some of these man-eating dogs we run into at these houses. He got thrust into this thing really with no intention of being thrust into it.”

Albin said other reserves don’t work the drug task force “because these guys run and gun 24 hours a day. … Bob is in a position with his company to be able to come and do that.”

When asked whether Bates had ever used force during an arrest before the April 2 shooting, Clark said: “I think one time before he used a Taser on a guy who was fighting. … That was within policy.”

Details of that arrest were not immediately available, though Albin said the Sheriff’s Office would provide them.

As national attention to the shooting has grown, Albin said the office has received death threats that have been called into dispatch. So far, officials have been unable to trace the calls, he said.

Albin said there is no “racial component” involved in the shooting of Harris, a black man who turned out to be unarmed, by a white officer. Fatal shootings by police of black men in South Carolina, Ferguson, Missouri, and elsewhere have focused nationwide attention on the issue of law enforcement and race relations.

Albin said the Sheriff’s Office asked Mike Huff, a retired veteran Tulsa police homicide sergeant, and the FBI to review its reports and investigation by a consultant, Jim Clark.

Clark is a sergeant on the Tulsa Police Department but was not representing the department in his review. Albin said Clark will be paid about $2,500 to $3,000 for his review of the shooting, which found that no crime occurred.

The Sheriff’s Office will also convene an internal shooting review board to determine whether any policies were violated, Albin said.

“This is uncharted water for us and so I wanted to make sure the investigators were on the right track.”