Tulsa World investigates: Oklahoma Highway Patrol fatality pursuits, deadly shootings
The Tulsa World's ongoing investigation of the Oklahoma Highway Patrol's deadly pursuits and shootings has uncovered reckless trooper actions, shoddy record-keeping, failure to address "alarming" concerns expressed by commanders, and unwillingness to formally review several fatal chases despite red flags.
In a six-year span, 21 people have been killed in 17 OHP vehicular pursuits — all but one of which were prompted by traffic infractions or stolen property, according to the World's investigation.
At least 10 individuals killed in OHP pursuits weren't the eluding drivers. Five were uninvolved motorists, at least four were passengers in fleeing vehicles, and one was a Highway Patrol lieutenant on foot struck by another trooper's cruiser at high speed.
Enshrined in OHP policy, troopers must weigh whether a chase's risks are worth the benefits of apprehension and "promote the safety of all persons."
The Tulsa World filed litigation against OHP in October to compel the agency to adhere to a lawsuit the newspaper won in 2010 in which the state courts declared use-of-force records to be public and mandated their release. OHP had delayed and denied for a year as the newspaper tried to get the agency to hand over force records, explain reporting processes and answer questions about policies — prompting the World's court action.
(28) updates to this series since Updated
A 2020 update erased language cautioning troopers that, as speeds increase, spinning out a vehicle has a higher risk of serious injury. In the next 12 months, troopers hitting vehicles turned fatal three times.
Trooper in fatal OHP pursuit for stolen tag had rifle cocked before spinning out SUV at over 100 mph
"They (were) trying to run from me," the trooper said later. A 17-year-old was killed in front of his brother, who had been trying to talk him out of "joyriding" in his grandma's SUV.
On Feb. 25, 2021, an eluder plowed into a family’s SUV at highway speeds on a busy street in east Tulsa. An internal investigation resulted in no action from Oklahoma Highway Patrol officials.
“I don’t know how to handle this,” a veteran trooper told the fresh academy graduate who was driving while a simultaneous OHP pursuit in the area monopolized radio airwaves.
The lone survivor in the crumpled Tahoe — a 7-year-old boy in the back — cried as he held up an arm while pinned inside. His aunt and cousin were dead, slumped over in the front seats.
Someone told him to “treat it like a shooting.” A supervisor referenced a law not yet in effect that would have protected their communications after the violent crash. "We'll get 'er taken care of," his troop commander said.
The state agency, which had denied Tulsa World access to the public case file for 20 months, stood by the decision not to review troopers' actions after the fatality.
Tulsa World investigates: Oklahoma Highway Patrol fatality pursuits, deadly shootings
About 15 minutes after the trooper clocked a car at 88 in a 75 mph zone in April 2020, a 30-year-old woman died with a man she was dating who was fleeing authorities in Creek County.
An Oklahoma Highway Patrol memo noting an “alarming increase” of troopers shooting people and at cars focused on the first of three fatal shootings in less than five months in 2019.
OHP policy stipulates that troopers aren't supposed to fill out use-of-force reports when their actions cause serious injury or death, nor when they attempt to or actually use deadly force.
No troopers have been disciplined in any of the fatal pursuits for which OHP has provided varying levels of documentation to the Tulsa World after open records requests.
A Tulsa World analysis is ongoing while OHP has yet to provide documentation after three uninvolved motorists were killed in the past year. Interview requests on pursuit protocols have been repeatedly denied.
The Oklahoma Highway Patrol's pursuit policy prohibits troopers from chasing a fleeing vehicle the wrong way on a road with four or more lanes of traffic. An arrest affidavit in the fatal crash says the eluder drove the wrong way on 41st Street — a five-lane roadway — before turning onto 94th East Avenue.
Commissioner John Scully said in a news release that he decided to release the protocol because transparency is a high priority for the agency’s administration after he was appointed to the position in September.
The Oklahoma Highway Patrol released 44 pages of documents Friday, nearly a year and a half after the Tulsa World first requested records related to the April 7, 2018, incident. The agency provided the newspaper with the chase's video three weeks ago, which doesn't show the crash because the rollover caused an equipment malfunction, according to the agency.
The World filed open records requests to learn how many law enforcement agencies publicly release their pursuit policies and compared those protocols with OHP policy after obtaining it as a defense exhibit in a recent felony murder trial.
OHP didn't hand down discipline in either instance. But both situations also appear contrary to the policy's overarching aim to "promote the safety of all persons" and strike a balance between "law enforcement effectiveness and the risk of injury to the public."
After less than two and a half hours of deliberation Monday, the 12-person panel recommended D’angelo Burgess serve life with a possibility of parole.
The Oklahoma Highway Patrol pursuit that killed Lt. Heath Meyer quickly turned dangerous and should have been swiftly terminated pursuant to the agency’s own policy, according to an expert witness for the defense.
Jurors heard testimony on Wednesday from the pursuing trooper who struck Lt. Heath Meyer at a partial road block in Moore on July 14, 2017. The collision happened on northbound Interstate 35 near 27th Street.
The chase could be construed as a violation of an international law enforcement standard that "the pursuing vehicle shall activate emergency lights, sirens, and cameras, and they shall remain activated for the duration of the pursuit."
Cleveland County District Judge Jeff Virgin on Tuesday filed an amended ruling that denies a motion from prosecutors to exclude the Oklahoma Highway Patrol’s pursuit policy from D’angelo Burgess’ first-degree felony murder trial.
NORMAN — The Oklahoma Highway Patrol has asked a district judge to empty the courtroom if testimony comes up regarding the agency’s pursuit po…
The international policy standards prohibit chasing vehicles in the wrong direction on divided highways and one-way roads. The former scenario played out on U.S. 75 in May 2017, with an innocent 23-year-old married father losing his life.
Related stories:
Video: "Was it really worth all that?" Widowed mother looks for answers after fatal crash
One of those killed was a fellow OHP trooper. DPS Commissioner Rusty Rhoades said he found “nothing that concerned me” after reviewing trooper actions in those fatal pursuits.
The Oklahoma Highway Patrol and Sapulpa Police Department each deemed their respective employees’ actions in the chase to be within policies and procedures.
The Tulsa Police Department and Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office are transparent with their pursuit policies, one of which placed its policy online. Both agencies emphasize the risks involved in pursuing motorists for lesser offenses.
Digital Offer: $1 for six months
Get six months of unlimited articles for $1. Subscribe today for a digital-only subscription in less than a minute: https://go.tulsaworld.com/aug1
Corey Jones
Public Service Journalism Team
I am a general assignment reporter who predominately writes about public health, public safety and justice reform. I'm in journalism to help make this community, state, country and, ultimately, world a better place.
Three people were apprehended following an hours-long search that ensued after they eluded Sand Springs police officers and Oklahoma Highway Patrol troopers in a pursuit over a stolen vehicle and a larceny from a Tractor Supply store, Sand Springs Police Capt. Jody Fogleman said.
A 2020 update erased language cautioning troopers that, as speeds increase, spinning out a vehicle has a higher risk of serious injury. In the next 12 months, troopers hitting vehicles turned fatal three times.
"Some at OHP might think the inherent conditions within high-speed chases don’t need elaboration. We disagree." the editorial states.
“On the accident report — two lines — it doesn’t say that there was a pursuit," the 24-year-old's mother said. "It was like, ‘You just happened upon him at Haikey Creek?’”
“On the accident report — two lines — it doesn’t say that there was a pursuit," the 24-year-old's mother said. "It was like, ‘You just happened upon him at Haikey Creek?’”
