National search or nah? Councilors clamor for culture change with next Tulsa police chief.

With Tulsa Police Chief Dennis Larsen announcing his retirement to the surprise of many city leaders two weeks ago, councilors are weighing in on how Mayor Monroe Nichols should choose Tulsa’s next top cop.  

The city charter provides Nichols the authority to appoint Tulsa’s police chief, but councilors have varying opinions on whether a national search ought to be conducted. 

At a mayor’s community listening session about the vacancy held Tuesday at Edison Preparatory School, District 1 Councilor Vanessa Hall-Harper — who faces four challengers for reelection Aug. 25 — said she believes the police department’s culture is its greatest issue.

“I just don’t believe someone that came up through that culture will have the wherewithal to make changes,” Hall-Harper said. “I think someone coming in from the outside, and someone actually with experience in changing culture and implementing community policing and those types of programs, will be the best decision for Tulsa.” 

In candidate forums and interviews with the Flyer, numerous councilors pointed to the annual Equality Indicators reports — which measure disparities between demographic groups across the city — as evidence the department’s culture needs change.

The justice theme, which specifically focuses on arrests, law enforcement workforce, officer use of force and violence, has decreased in score every year since the reports were first published in 2018.

Laura Bellis, Tulsa’s District 4 councilor, said she has long wanted the city to undertake a national search for police chief. Bellis said there are “excellent people and leaders” at TPD but voiced concerns about culture.

“I still think when you’ve been in a culture for so long, it’s hard to get outside of that for anybody,” Bellis said. “I think that has also shown time and time again at some of these other law enforcement agencies where they continue to promote from within and they think, ‘We want to reward our officers,’ but at the same time, what are your outcomes for your constituents?”

District 6 Councilor Christian Bengel, the only councilor with law enforcement experience, encouraged Nichols to consider public input. 

“He could just flat out say, ‘This is the guy I want, or this is the gal that I want,’” Bengel said. “But, I think it’s certainly incumbent on the mayor to listen to the community, listen to the council and listen to the feedback that he gets from those different venues, and figure out the best person that fits that.”

The listening session drew about 40 to 50 people. Residents expressed interest in whether the next police chief will support independent monitoring and oversight, how that person will navigate “racial tension” in Tulsa and the security of Flock Safety cameras.

Nichols told the Flyer after the session “there is a reason” why Tulsa’s mayors have typically hired internally — and that’s often because of their understanding of the department. 

“As I said before, you’ve got folks who come in who already have a bachelor’s degree. They come into a department with high expectations, and typically you’re going to find the best candidate for chief in a department like that, who’s been a part of that type of culture,” Nichols said. “So, for me, it really isn’t about if I prefer this or that. What I am focused on is the very best person leading the department.”

Nichols said he does not anticipate appointing an interim police chief, and is hopeful to make the permanent hire before Larsen retires Sept. 30. Larsen served more than 47 years with TPD.

“The hope is we get someone hired and there’s a period where we both have Chief Larsen and the new chief,” Nichols said. “I think that’s really helpful.”

The application for chief will open to external candidates at midnight Thursday, Nichols said.

While councilors seek wide search, Tulsa has typically hired police chiefs internally

Tulsa’s District 7 Councilor Lori Decter Wright — who is in a three-candidate race for reelection Aug. 25 — said she advocates for a national search. 

She encourages the mayor to “be bold” with his appointee, adding that she has not seen substantive change over the last two police chief changeovers. Larsen took his official oath in July 2024.

“He’s already been bold with putting a public safety commissioner in place. This would be the next natural step, I would think,” Decter Wright said. 

Larsen and former Chief Wendell Franklin were internal hires. Before those, former Chief Chuck Jordan served a decade in the post after leaving the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office in 2010. However, he previously worked at TPD for 32 years, from 1969 to 2001.

Ronald Palmer, who returned as chief from 2007 to 2010, previously served in the role from 1992 to 2002. During the five-year break in Palmer’s service, David Been, who served 37 years at TPD, led the agency. As far as external hires go, former Mayor Kathy Taylor appointed David Bostrom as interim chief from May 2007 to September 2007.

Prior to Palmer taking the post for the first time in 1992, Drew Diamond served as chief for four years after 18 years on the Tulsa Police force. 

In a statement to the Flyer, District 5 Councilor Karen Gilbert, who serves as CEO of public safety nonprofit Tulsa Crime Stoppers, said the city should open the application pool to national candidates if there is an insufficient number of internal candidates. Bengel echoed that sentiment.

“If it’s a very narrow pool of applicants, my view would be that we would potentially want to do some sort of national search,” Bengel said. “That’s not to say that the narrow pool of applicants aren’t qualified for the job, but I don’t think it gives confidence if there are enough qualified candidates who didn’t apply for this job.”

District 2 Councilor Anthony Archie said he is not opposed to a national search but is more focused on someone who can inspire and build trust inside and outside the department. 

Officers have told him they want a chief who is “fair, but firm.”

“If we have a chief that is not holding our officers accountable when and if they violate department policy, if they are not living the way that they need to live at home, not being a person of character or integrity — if a chief allows that to slide or allows for a culture of permissiveness within the department, it discourages the officers that are doing the right thing,” Archie said.

Tulsa’s District 3 Councilor Jackie Dutton, who faces challenger Tanisha Bowen for reelection, said during a July 23 candidate forum she would like to see a national search.

“I support independent oversight for the police department, and with the chief retiring, I would really like to see us bring in some national people that could qualify for the job,” Dutton said. “We know through the equality indicators that there are specific cultures and populations that suffer greatly, far more at the hands of police officers, despite the small percentage that they represent in the city of Tulsa.”

District 8 Councilor Phil Lakin did not respond to a request for comment prior to the publication of this story.

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