OKLAHOMA CITY – A plan to remove Oklahoma Highway Patrol troopers from metro and urban areas is illegal, according to a legally binding opinion released Wednesday by the state’s top attorney.
The agency cannot make “the arbitrary decision to foist its responsibility” onto the municipal and county law enforcement in Oklahoma and Tulsa counties, said Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond during a press conference announcing his opinion.
He said state law vests the Oklahoma Highway Patrol with the primary authority to patrol interstates.
The decision by Oklahoma Department of Public Safety Commissioner Tim Tipton to stop providing law enforcement coverage in the most populous areas of the state is unlawful, Drummond said.
Tipton, who was appointed by Gov. Kevin Stitt, announced in July that the Oklahoma Highway Patrol would no longer provide law enforcement coverage in Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Edmond, Moore, Norman, Midwest City and Del City beginning Nov. 1.
Highway Patrol leaders said responsibility for interstates and highways within those jurisdictions would shift to local law enforcement.
Tipton had said the agency needed to focus its resources on areas covered by smaller law enforcement footprints and because of higher call volumes and changing traffic patterns throughout the state.
“The Stitt administration’s decision to abdicate this responsibility is not only unlawful, but it is bewildering,” Drummond said. “Even aside from its unlawfulness, such a move would have a profound and adverse effect on public safety.”
Drummond said he had no doubt that rural Oklahoma needs more resources along the highways, but the Highway Patrol cannot refuse to respond to serve certain urban and suburban communities.
Over 1.4 million people — or more than a third of Oklahomans — live in those seven cities, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Drummond said the opinion does not dictate how the OHP shall deploy its resources, but draws a “bright line” that the agency can’t abandon Tulsa and Oklahoma City.
If the agency responds by only deploying one trooper to the areas, then “we’ll probably have other issues,” Drummond said.
Tipton did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It was not immediately clear if he would reverse course based on the opinion.
Stitt said he was glad Drummond agreed with him that the Department of Public Safety has the authority to allocate the OHP resources as it sees fit.
“Commissioner Tipton is taking a thoughtful, statewide approach to public safety that will make Oklahoma safer, especially in areas that have gone without consistent coverage,” Stitt said.
Drummond’s remarks were made during a press conference at his office. He was flanked by members of law enforcement and Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt.
Holt said the Oklahomans that live, vote and pay taxes in Oklahoma City and Tulsa “deserve to receive at least some version of the public safety service that has been offered in Oklahoma since the Oklahoma Highway Patrol was created in 1937.”
Holt is also dean of the Oklahoma City University School of Law.
He said he agreed with Drummond’s interpretation of the law and called the opinion “binding.”
Holt said his police department always needs additional officers, but even if they’re short staffed, they cannot refuse to provide law enforcement services to certain areas within Oklahoma City limits.
Oklahoma City residents support more resources for the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, Holt said.
Tulsa Fraternal Order of Police President Jeff Downs said the underlying issue is a lack of resources. Oklahoma and the nation are facing a staffing crisis, he said.
Sen. Mark Mann, D-Oklahoma City, who asked for the opinion on the legality of the Oklahoma Highway Patrol’s plan, praised Drummond’s decision.
“This opinion clarifies that OHP resources should continue to be available for our metropolitan areas,” Mann said.
Norman Mayor Stephen Tyler Holman wrote in a Facebook post Wednesday that the decision to pull back from metro coverage was problematic and the Oklahoma Highway Patrol had a responsibility to serve all Oklahomans, including the major metro areas.
"There was no discussion with metro law enforcement agencies before this policy change was announced. Cities like Norman, Oklahoma City, and Tulsa were left out of the conversation, even though the impacts would fall directly on our local departments and residents," Holman wrote. "That lack of coordination could have created serious gaps in public safety and placed unnecessary strain on already stretched city resources."
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