Tulsa citizens allege police discrimination and misconduct

TULSA - A former Tulsa police chief says citizens alleging police discrimination and misconduct have the power to help themselves.

Drew Diamond urged the more than 100 people at a Saturday hearing to file complaints with the city council if they've been treated unfairly by police officers.

Diamond said they should also ask the council and Mayor Susan Savage to order the Tulsa Police Department to fully cooperate with U.S. Justice Department officials investigating an alleged civil rights violation.

The police union has told rank-and-file officers not to speak to Justice Department officials until federal investigators reveal the specific reasons for their probe, the Tulsa World reports.

Diamond, who resigned in 1991, also said citizens should ask the city to settle a lawsuit filed seven years ago against the police department by the Black Officers Coalition. The lawsuit alleges that black officers have been discriminated against by fellow officers.


Water wells near hog lagoons scheduled to be tested

OKLAHOMA CITY - State Agriculture Secretary Dennis Howard will meet with the U.S. Geological Survey this week to schedule Agriculture Department water tests on wells next to hog lagoons.

The Sierra Club of Oklahoma publicized the agency's monitoring results from 344 wells, which showed 79 wells had nitrate levels of more than 10 parts per million. That's the threshold for drinking water under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act.

Readings from monitoring wells at Murphy Family Farms in Harper County showed that five wells had nitrate levels ranging from 40 to 60 parts per million.

There is no proof, however, that the nitrates found in the wells are coming from lagoons containing hog manure mixed with water, said Dan Parrish, head of the water quality division of the state Agriculture Department. The tests show high nitrate levels exist, but they don't pinpoint the source.


Corrections won't send prisoners to Oklahoma Co.

OKLAHOMA CITY - Corrections Department officials say they will stop sending prisoners to the Oklahoma County Jail until it solves physical and administrative problems.

Beginning April 27, about 190 prisoners per day will remain in the state prison system instead of transferring to the jail, said Jerry Massie, spokesman for the corrections department. The change could cost the county jail $2.1 million annually if it loses the state contract to house prisoners.

State prisoners are taken to the county jail when they have court appearances in Oklahoma County or when the state prisons are full.

Massie said the state wants the jail to assess inmates and determine where they should serve their prison sentences. The Corrections Department also wants the jail to fix its sprinkler system and train jailers to remove prisoners in case of a fire.

''We have not had much progress,'' Massie said.

Oklahoma County Sheriff John Whetsel said the jail is correcting problems in the hopes the decision will be reversed.

Whetsel said sprinkler heads were put in the wrong place when the jail was built. Workers are now relocating about 30 heads, he said.

The sheriff also said that since February, jailers have been trained to open cells during dark and smoky conditions.


Tulsa is 42nd largest city in nation, Oklahoma City 29th

TULSA, Okla. - Tulsa moved up to the 42nd spot on the list of the nation's largest cities after the latest census, while Oklahoma City is still holding at 29.

The population of Oklahoma's second largest city increased 7 percent to 393,049 during a decade. Tulsa is about 3,300 residents behind Mesa, Ariz., and 3,000 ahead of Omaha, Neb.

Oklahoma City grew 13.8 percent, to 506,132, from 1990 to 2000. The city is 23,000 residents behind Portland, Ore., and almost 20,000 ahead of Tucson, Ariz.

The final numbers were needed to allow states to redraw legislative boundaries were released this week. The numbers for California, the last totals released, were delivered late Thursday. Oklahoma's numbers came in March 12.
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