Norman City Council voted to approve the purchase of an armored, all purpose rescue vehicle and updated equipment for the Norman Police Department in a Tuesday meeting.
Ward 1 councilmember Brandi Studley proposed to postpone the decision of purchasing a $353,000 BearCat until Jan. 24, 2023. She said she felt it was important for the council to discuss with the public and the NPD before making a decision.
Ricky Jackson, NPD deputy chief, said there is already one BearCat housed in Norman, owned by the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Department. Norman would not have the new BearCat for two years.
Jackson said there are policies in place limiting the BearCat’s use to disaster-related events, hostage situations and anti-terrorism instances. It would not be able to be used for events such as peaceful protests, he said.
Ward 7 councilmember Stephen Holman and Ward 2 councilmember Lauren Schueler said they were in favor of postponement because they preferred more public discussion and involvement.
“There is reason to continue to have conversations about an item that has been so divisive in our community for seven-plus years,” Schueler said.
The proposal to postpone the decision of the BearCat’s purchase was rejected in a vote of 4-5, with Studley, Schueler, Ward 4 councilmember Helen Grant and Holman voting in favor of postponement.
“I’m disappointed,” Schueler said. “I wish we had more opportunity for discussion.”
Jackson said the $353,000 includes both the BearCat and the training of four officers on the vehicle, compensating for the delay of Cleveland County’s BearCat when Norman has needed it. If another city needed the NPD’s BearCat, Jackson said they would take it there, but would require Norman’s trained officers to operate it.
Holman said he has received an overwhelming opposition to the BearCat in his ward, adding he will not be supporting its purchase.
Ward 8 councilmember Matthew Peacock said that he is also voting in representation of his ward, which he said has displayed support for the BearCat.
Schueler said she wished the council had a more robust discussion with the public about the BearCat before making her decision. Based on feedback from her ward, Schueler said she will be voting against the BearCat on behalf of her constituents.
“My vote isn’t against the police department,” Schueler said. “My votes aren’t black and white.”
The purchase of the BearCat was approved in a vote of 5-4, with Studley, Schueler, Grant and Holman voting against and Norman Mayor Larry Heikkila, Ward 3 councilmember Kelly Lynn, Ward 5 councilmember Rarchar Tortorello, Ward 6 councilmember Elizabeth Foreman and Peacock voting in support of the BearCat’s purchase.
The council first discussed using the city asset forfeiture fund to replace and update the NPD’s expired equipment, costing $943,160. However, the council decided to approve Holman’s amendment to instead purchase the equipment using the city’s general fund.
Jackson said the current technology and tools have become outdated, non-serviceable and unreliable. Officers have been using their own funds to purchase new equipment, such as night vision goggles, he said.
The tools would provide officers with the ability to slow incidents down, allowing time for less lethal options, Jackson said.
The purchase of new equipment for the NPD would include ballistic shields and blankets, door breaching equipment, a portable x-ray machine and radiation detector, Jackson said.
Studley said the NPD should have been appropriately budgeting the items since public safety has the largest budget in the city, to which Jackson said the NPD’s requests have been cut multiple times within the department before they make it to the council.
Foreman said the NPD did come to the council for shields and other equipment in 2020, but the council voted no.
During public comment, former Ward 1 councilmember Kate Bierman said city asset forfeiture funds should not be the source of the equipment’s purchase.
“If it was that important of equipment, it would have made it through the many checks and balances it has to get to before it makes it to the city council for you to vote on,” Bierman said.
Asset forfeiture, also called seizure and restitution funds, is designed to deprive criminals of the proceeds of their crimes, and two Normanites spoke during public comment about the difficulty of retrieving assets as a low-income resident when the police take their money or vehicle in traffic stops.
Holman proposed an amendment to use the general fund surplus to fund the NPD’s items instead of the city asset forfeiture funds because of the significant surplus of money existing in the general fund. This one-time fund should be used to fund the need in Norman, he said.
City Manager Darrel Pyle said the general fund surplus has approximately $6 million.
Foreman said she supports the new amendment, but is weary of using the general funds in case of future emergency situations.
Schueler said she supported the new amendment and asked if the council’s rainy day fund could be used for unforeseen events like ice storms if the items come out of the general fund.
The rainy day fund has $4 million, finance director Anthony Francisco said.
Francisco said the items requested by the NPD would best be funded by the seizure and restitution funds, which can be used for public safety, while the general funds should be reserved for things that cannot be used from other sources.
City Attorney Kathryn Walker said the seizures and restitutions fund’s purpose is for law enforcement.
Tortorello said he wants to wait to use the general fund for unforeseen circumstances, avoiding jeopardizing the general fund when the specific funds available for this purpose exist in the city asset forfeiture funds.
Pyle said the NPD’s previous requests for these items did not make it to the council because the council had voted to not grant those funds in 2020.
The council voted to approve the amendment to use the general fund as the source of the equipment’s funding by a vote of 6-3, with Heikkila, Lynn and Tortorello all voting against the amendment.
The council unanimously voted to approve the NPD’s request for new equipment.
