By John Dobberstein, Editor
As the internal probe surrounding Broken Arrow Police Chief Lance Arnold continues, some residents spoke out again Tuesday at the City Council meeting about how the situation was handled with Arnold’s paid administrative leave.
Arnold was placed on leave last month over what the city termed as “operational issues” pending further investigation, but little more has been said publicly.
Broken Arrow resident Brian Cathey, who also spoke in support of Arnold at the last meeting, said he understands there may be limitations on what the City Council can say, but suggested the city could have conducted an internal review of the situation without the “spectacle” of announcing a paid administrative leave.
“My frustration is directed at how the city manager has handled the communication, and with leadership surrounding this situation. We, as a community, are not asking anyone to compromise an investigation. We’re asking for leadership from each of you,” Cathey said.
“You cannot ask citizens to trust the process without acknowledging the concerns the process has created. And you cannot forget that leadership is not simply about managing policies, personnel or procedures. It’s about serving the people. That’s what you’re all elected to do.”
Chris Walker, a retired Broken Arrow Police Officer who is still a member of FOP Lodge 170, suggested the situation was mishandled from the public’s perspective.
“In 27 years, I have never seen an FOP lodge stand hand in hand with a police chief in opposition to city administration. That speaks volumes,” Walker said. “The officers who serve under him, along with the members of this community, have publicly demonstrated their confidence and support.
“No one is suggesting that policies should be ignored or accountability abandoned. But leadership, fairness, and accountability must work both ways.”
Emails shared in the media and cited by Arnold’s attorney, D. Mitchell Garrett Jr., show there was disagreement between city administrators and Arnold over his handling of an arrest in March.
The case involved two BAPD officers who arrested someone just inside the threshold of the home’s entrance during a felony domestic violence incident.
Arnold admitted in an email shared in the media that the use of force and arrest conflicted with “OPS 120,” a department policy that governs searches, seizures and warrantless arrests. Arnold told his officers he was “fairly certain” most of them would have taken the same action.
Arnold wrote that he felt current policies didn’t define how to do the job, but what is not permitted.
“So, was there a policy violation? Technically, yes. Does that mean the involved officers will be disciplined? No,” he wrote. “In this particular instance, our policy and our practice were not aligned. In other words, the finding will likely be a training failure. Who is responsible when our policy and practices don’t align, or when we have not provided the proper training to improve alignment? Ultimately, ME.”
But Arnold insisted that he wasn’t turning the department into one where officers don’t hold each other accountable.
“Further,” he wrote, “it means we will use logic to assess the problem-solving, decision-making and judgment of our members. And it means we start by suspending our judgment after the fact and giving our members the benefit of the doubt.”
City Manager Michael Spurgeon and other city administrators disagreed with Arnold’s stance on the city’s procedures.
On Oct. 14, the same day Arnold was put on paid leave and about 6 months after Arnold’s email, Spurgeon ordered Acting Police Chief Scott Bennett to send a memo to BAPD officers rescinding Arnold’s email and instructing officers to follow OPS 120.
Spurgeon told Bennett, according to an email obtained by KOTV, that the city could not leave Arnold’s message to officers unanswered.
“Every day the message stands unanswered it undermines OPS 120, leaves officers without clear guidance in situations where the line is bright and the consequences are serious, and it puts the city in the position of appearing to accept conduct its own written policy prohibits,” Spurgeon wrote.
Bennett’s directive said the current policy is binding to the department and rejected any suggestion that compliance with policies or the Fourth Amendment “is a technicality.”
Ward 3 City Council member David Pickel said he appreciated the residents coming out to support Arnold but asked for them to be respectful. “These are hard times, these are concerning times, and we take all these things into account. And we need to be respectful of each other no matter what side you’re on,” Pickel said.
Assistant City Manager Kenneth Schwab said Broken Arrow’s form of government ordains that the city manager is responsible for all employee matters, which affords the City Council and residents some protection rather than City Council members being involved in personnel matters.
“We’re not going to air employee matters out in the public. When people are coming up and pressuring the Council, that doesn’t work,” Schwab said, adding it would be illegal for the City Council to get involved in employee investigations.
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