By John Dobberstein, Editor
Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond issued a formal opinion Wednesday that prohibits the Oklahoma Highway Patrol from pulling its services out of the state’s two largest metropolitan areas.
OHP had announced it was going to abandon its patrol duties on the interstates in Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Del City, Edmond, Midwest City, Moore and Norman effective Nov. 1.
DPS Commissioner Tim Tipton reiterated the need to focus OHP’s patrol operations on rural Oklahoma to meet the steady increase in calls for service in those areas. But Drummond said OHP doesn’t have the authority to simply abandon those interstates.
“The most fundamental function of government is to provide public safety for its citizens,” Drummond said. “The Oklahoma Highway Patrol is vested with primary law enforcement authority on our interstates, and that authority imposes a mandatory duty. I will not allow Gov. (Kevin) Stitt or OHP leadership to put Oklahoma citizens at risk by refusing to patrol our most densely populated areas.”
OHP has yet to comment publicly on Drummond’s decision. The opinion, requested by state Sen. Mark Mann, notes that state statues ordain that OHP, “shall have primary law enforcement authority respecting traffic-related offenses upon the [Interstates]” and is, “to investigate and report traffic collisions on all [Interstates].”
Drummond’s opinion comes after a particularly deadly weekend on Oklahoma roads and highways, as 15 people died in accidents — including 5 children. The opinion does note OHP’s contention that rural Oklahoma warrants additional attention.
“To be sure, this office has no reason to doubt that there is an increased need for more resources in rural Oklahoma to ensure the coverage and service Oklahomans expect from OHP,” states the opinion. “More to the point, this office concludes that the OHP’s ‘primary law enforcement authority respecting traffic-related offenses’ on Oklahoma’s interstates is a mandatory duty that cannot be abdicated in favor of local law enforcement, either in urban or rural areas.”
News of OHP’s decision shocked many in law enforcement, who said they had not been warned ahead of time. Drummond said he discussed the matter with local law enforcement leaders whose communities would be negatively impacted by an OHP withdrawal. No one in OHP leadership or the Department of Public Safety, he added, consulted with him about their plans to eliminate metropolitan patrols.
“As the chief law enforcement officer in the state, my highest priority is public safety,” Drummond said. “I will gladly work with Secretary Everest and OHP leadership to establish a plan that complies with the law and protects all four million Oklahomans.”
In a statement, Tulsa Mayor Monroe Nichols said he was “grateful” for the opinion. “OHP plays an important role in public safety across our city, and this decision ensures that partnership will continue. I look forward to working closely with the governor, the attorney general, and OHP to strengthen our public safety efforts moving forward.”
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