City mulls charges against Tulsa BLM activists after DA declines to prosecute some painters

Tulsa County District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler said Tuesday that he declined to file state charges against several people accused of malicious injury to property because he believes his office’s limited resources are better spent on violent crime.

“Many times people damage other people’s property or deface other people’s property, and it doesn’t require a criminal charge to resolve that grievance,” Kunzweiler said. “For instance, a civil lawsuit could be filed to also resolve those types of grievances.

“I’m confident the attorneys within the city of Tulsa’s Legal Division have the resources and the ability to address this dispute in the manner which best suits the interest of the city of Tulsa.”

Tulsa police rolled onto the afternoon scene in front of City Hall on Oct. 10 before the paint was dry on the large, yellow block letters, which stand for Black Lives Matter.

Two men, Jess Eddy and James Lease, were arrested after reportedly refusing officers’ commands to vacate the street. They were booked into the municipal jail on obstruction complaints.

A woman, Leigh Johnson, was later arrested nearby on a malicious injury to property complaint after she reportedly ran from police with yellow paint on her clothes and body. She was booked into the Tulsa County jail on state charges.

All three posted bond within hours, and the men’s cases are now resolved; Eddy’s charge was dismissed, and Lease pleaded no contest and paid a $50 fine and $101 in municipal court costs.

Johnson’s case, however, is now up for the city prosecutor’s review.

Malicious injury to property is a state charge punishable by civil action that can be categorized as a misdemeanor or felony based on whether property damage exceeds $1,000.

In a statement at the time, Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum said vandalism of public property is not a peaceful protest but a criminal act, and he vowed to “pursue legal action against those who damaged this city street and City Hall, with the expectation that they pay for repairs rather than the citizens of Tulsa.”

The damage done Oct. 10 totaled about $1,500, Michelle Brooks, a spokeswoman for the Mayor’s Office, said Tuesday.

Officer Danny Bean, a spokesman for the Tulsa Police Department, said investigators presented possible charges to the state against the individuals alleged to be responsible for the painting along Greenwood Avenue. Kunzweiler said he was also presented a suspect from the Oct. 10 case, though that investigation remains open, but he declined “everything sent over.” 

City Prosecutor Shelton Benedict is reviewing potential municipal charges in both cases, Brooks said.

Bean said investigators are still trying to identify suspects photographed painting the letters outside City Hall, and results from that investigation may yet be presented to state prosecutors for criminal charges.

The city removed a larger Black Lives Matter mural in Greenwood in a previously postponed resurfacing project after unsuccessfully seeking for months to find a legal way to let it remain without allowing an influx of other messages to be painted on city streets.

Bean said investigators are also looking into the Black Lives Matter and anti-police sentiment graffiti that surfaced at the Center of the Universe, a downtown landmark, the same day as the painting in front of City Hall.

The city’s municipal code has an ordinance that specifically prohibits the willful defacing of streets or other city property, punishable upon conviction by a fine of up to $100 and/or imprisonment in the city jail for five to 30 days, but Bean said the decision to pursue municipal or state charges in such a situation is up to officer discretion.

Many factors, such as the severity of a crime and a suspect’s actions upon contact, determine what complaints an officer applies and presents to prosecutors when investigating a crime, Bean said, and it’s up to prosecutors to determine what charges should be pursued.

Bean said officers investigate all reported instances of graffiti, and he said similar charges have been filed in the past.

Police arrested a serial spraypainter on malicious injury to property charges about this time last year after a swastika was painted outside a left-leaning business, and the defendant was later convicted in state court.

“Every instance is going to be different,” Bean said.

Editor's note: This story was edited after publication to clarify statements from the district attorney and Tulsa Police spokesman regarding which cases had been presented by investigators to state prosecutors.

Featured video: Black Lives Matter rally in front of Tulsa’s City Hall

Gallery: Black Lives Matter rally outside City Hall in Tulsa