By John Dobberstein, Editor
City officials said Wednesday that “operational concerns” about the police department led to Broken Arrow Police Chief Lance Arnold being placed on paid leave, and an outside person will be handling the investigation rather than Internal Affairs.
Deputy Chief Scott Bennett has been tapped to lead BAPD while the investigation continues.
Late last month, according to City Manager Michael Spurgeon, matters involving police operations were brought to Assistant City Manager Norm Stephens, “that were very concerning to him” and Stephens brought those concerns to Spurgeon.
Spurgeon said he had several meetings with Assistant City Manager Kenneth Schwab and the city’s attorneys to look at the matters presented to them. Schwab oversees the city’s Public Works and Community Development operations and Stephens oversees employee administration.
“With everything that I have at this time, as well as the advice of counsel, I decided that the next best step would be to conduct an investigation into the matters that were brought to my attention,” said Spurgeon, who said he couldn’t elaborate further on what the concerns were due to this being a personnel issue.
Spurgeon declined to reveal who the individual is who will lead the investigation, but added it was someone, “recommended to us by our special counsel for personnel who has experience in these types of investigations.
“I’ve asked them to do a full, fair, and complete evaluation and then get the results back to me to determine next steps. So there will be multiple interviews with individuals within the department and I’m hoping to get that investigation started early next week.
“I understand the community would like to have answers and obviously people are asking ‘Why?’ And I think the mayor, the City Council and myself have a track record of being telling the public what we can, and when we when we haven’t, we’ve said we weren’t able to. We will continue to make sure Broken Arrow is safe and when I can share more with the public, I will certainly do so.”
Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 170, who represents rank-and-file police officers for BAPD, issued a statement Wednesday backing Arnold, saying he helped the department build momentum after difficult personnel issues occurred prior to his arrival.
“Under his leadership, the Broken Arrow Police Department has built real momentum, earning wide recognition for our approach to accountability, our adoption of modern technology, and the tools and standards now being brought to this community,” the FOP Lodge’s statement said. “This transformation is a direct reflection of his leadership in the short time he has been here.”
The union said it respects the process of a fair and impartial investigation but criticized how the announcement of the action with Arnold was handled Wednesday, saying BAPD employees were given no advance word and learned about it at the same time as the public and news media.
“That this came on the very morning Chief Arnold had organized a gathering of Northeastern Oklahoma law enforcement leadership, a meeting he could no longer attend, has only deepened our concern about how and why this was carried out the way it was.
“Our officers are on duty, our mission is unchanged, and the public’s safety remains our highest priority. We ask our community for the same thing we extend to this process: fairness, patience, and a commitment to the truth.”
Once the investigation is complete the results will be brought to Stephens and the city’s Legal Department, and then to Spurgeon, who said he would update the City Council on the matter when appropriate, as well as the public based on advice from the city’s attorneys.
“I just want to make it clear I want a full, fair and complete investigation of what was brought to our attention,” Spurgeon said. “I have not pre-judged this in any way. That’s why I removed myself from the process because I want to look at what information I have, plus the results of the investigation, then I’ll make the most appropriate determination after I have everything in front of me.”
Spurgeon said he was confident in Bennett’s ability to lead as acting police chief, noting he did the same for several months between the retirement of former BAPD Chief Brandon Berryhill and Arnold arriving in early 2025.
“Scott is a true professional. He’s a good leader and police officer who takes his job very seriously,” Spurgeon said. “I am concerned about the morale of our officers and support staff specifically. But I think Scott’s the person that, along with our majors, captains and sergeants, can help us ensure we continue to keep Broken Arrow safe.”
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