Forums
New posts
Search forums
What's new
New posts
New media
New media comments
Latest activity
Classifieds
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Log in
Register
What's New?
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
New posts
Search forums
Menu
Log in
Register
Navigation
Install the app
Install
More Options
Advertise with us
Contact Us
Close Menu
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Forums
The Water Cooler
General Discussion
TCSO: Deputy shouldn't be charged because he confused his weapons (video)
Search titles only
By:
Reply to Thread
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Poke78" data-source="post: 2759809" data-attributes="member: 4333"><p><a href="http://www.tulsaworld.com/opinion/editorials/tulsa-world-editorial-reforms-needed-for-tulsa-county-reserve-deputy/article_81d9821b-6258-5a41-8e98-febe224a2100.html" target="_blank">http://www.tulsaworld.com/opinion/editorials/tulsa-world-editorial-reforms-needed-for-tulsa-county-reserve-deputy/article_81d9821b-6258-5a41-8e98-febe224a2100.html</a></p><p></p><p>Last month, Sheriff Stanley Glanz suspended Tulsa County’s reserve deputy program.</p><p></p><p>In 2014, the program had provided 16,581 hours of free service to the county, a tremendously valuable magnifier of the sheriff’s paid corps of deputies, but the suspension was certainly warranted.</p><p></p><p>On April 2, 73-year-old Reserve Deputy Robert Bates reportedly mistook his stun gun for his pistol and fatally shot suspect Eric Harris during an undercover gun purchase. Bates has been charged with second-degree manslaughter amid spreading controversy that includes a petition for a grand jury investigation, an OSBI investigation and an external review of the department by a private firm.</p><p></p><p>The sheriff’s office says it wants to get the reserve deputy program back on its feet by September, in time for the Tulsa State Fair.</p><p></p><p>That seems possible, but several changes need to be made in the program going forward.</p><p></p><p>First, we think an age limit is needed. A 73-year-old man has a great deal to contribute to society, but that might not include carrying a gun and badge. The county might lose some valuable and experienced volunteers with a flat, mandatory retirement age, but that seems like a reasonable risk. Police work is rough, physical activity and an age limit protects the county, the citizens and the reservists.</p><p></p><p>Second, reserve deputies should be limited in the scope of their efforts. Previously, “advanced” reserve deputies have been allowed to make independent patrols, work on violent crimes or drug task forces and the SWAT team or criminal investigations. Frankly, those are not jobs for volunteers, no matter how advanced they are. We want full-time, paid deputies doing the “advanced” work. We welcome volunteers, but think they need to be restricted to more modest tasks such as traffic control.</p><p></p><p>Third, reserve deputies must be trained for any task they undertake, and the training must be fully documented. It’s embarrassing that the sheriff’s office has been unable to come up with its own records on reserve training and that an internal memo from 2009 makes is clear that some supervisors in the department might have had a cavalier attitude about making sure the reservists were ready for tasks.</p><p></p><p>Glanz said he wants to put all reserves through reality-based training, which entails scenarios involving firearms or less-lethal force as options. We would hope that reservists are never put in a position where they have to make such critical life-and-death decisions, but if the county is going to put them on the streets with guns and badges, it certainly needs to make sure they are ready for any scenario.</p><p></p><p>Finally, the sheriff’s office needs to build a wall of separation between the reserve program and sheriff’s office politics. Bates was not only a reservist and the sheriff’s fishing buddy, but also the chairman of the sheriff’s re-election campaign and a donor to the department. Intermixing the reserve program with political efforts taints the volunteers. They should be welcome on the basis of their ability, not on their connections.</p><p></p><p>A fully trained, modestly restricted reserve program can once again be a boon to the county, a force extender for the limited number of deputies in the county. But, without reform, the reserve program undercuts the credibility of the entire department.</p><p>= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = == = = = = = = </p><p></p><p>I think the proposals above make some points, the best being the ones on age, training, and removing politics from the program. If the reserve deputy program becomes restricted to traffic control, like one of the proposals, I can predict its demise will already be written.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Poke78, post: 2759809, member: 4333"] [url]http://www.tulsaworld.com/opinion/editorials/tulsa-world-editorial-reforms-needed-for-tulsa-county-reserve-deputy/article_81d9821b-6258-5a41-8e98-febe224a2100.html[/url] Last month, Sheriff Stanley Glanz suspended Tulsa County’s reserve deputy program. In 2014, the program had provided 16,581 hours of free service to the county, a tremendously valuable magnifier of the sheriff’s paid corps of deputies, but the suspension was certainly warranted. On April 2, 73-year-old Reserve Deputy Robert Bates reportedly mistook his stun gun for his pistol and fatally shot suspect Eric Harris during an undercover gun purchase. Bates has been charged with second-degree manslaughter amid spreading controversy that includes a petition for a grand jury investigation, an OSBI investigation and an external review of the department by a private firm. The sheriff’s office says it wants to get the reserve deputy program back on its feet by September, in time for the Tulsa State Fair. That seems possible, but several changes need to be made in the program going forward. First, we think an age limit is needed. A 73-year-old man has a great deal to contribute to society, but that might not include carrying a gun and badge. The county might lose some valuable and experienced volunteers with a flat, mandatory retirement age, but that seems like a reasonable risk. Police work is rough, physical activity and an age limit protects the county, the citizens and the reservists. Second, reserve deputies should be limited in the scope of their efforts. Previously, “advanced” reserve deputies have been allowed to make independent patrols, work on violent crimes or drug task forces and the SWAT team or criminal investigations. Frankly, those are not jobs for volunteers, no matter how advanced they are. We want full-time, paid deputies doing the “advanced” work. We welcome volunteers, but think they need to be restricted to more modest tasks such as traffic control. Third, reserve deputies must be trained for any task they undertake, and the training must be fully documented. It’s embarrassing that the sheriff’s office has been unable to come up with its own records on reserve training and that an internal memo from 2009 makes is clear that some supervisors in the department might have had a cavalier attitude about making sure the reservists were ready for tasks. Glanz said he wants to put all reserves through reality-based training, which entails scenarios involving firearms or less-lethal force as options. We would hope that reservists are never put in a position where they have to make such critical life-and-death decisions, but if the county is going to put them on the streets with guns and badges, it certainly needs to make sure they are ready for any scenario. Finally, the sheriff’s office needs to build a wall of separation between the reserve program and sheriff’s office politics. Bates was not only a reservist and the sheriff’s fishing buddy, but also the chairman of the sheriff’s re-election campaign and a donor to the department. Intermixing the reserve program with political efforts taints the volunteers. They should be welcome on the basis of their ability, not on their connections. A fully trained, modestly restricted reserve program can once again be a boon to the county, a force extender for the limited number of deputies in the county. But, without reform, the reserve program undercuts the credibility of the entire department. = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = == = = = = = = I think the proposals above make some points, the best being the ones on age, training, and removing politics from the program. If the reserve deputy program becomes restricted to traffic control, like one of the proposals, I can predict its demise will already be written. [/QUOTE]
Insert Quotes…
Verification
Post Reply
Forums
The Water Cooler
General Discussion
TCSO: Deputy shouldn't be charged because he confused his weapons (video)
Search titles only
By:
Top
Bottom
