The Tulsa City Council is set to revisit a years-long debate Wednesday when it considers an ordinance to establish an office dedicated to oversight of public safety. The newly appointed chief of police isn’t sold on the idea.
According to the ordinance, proposed by District 1 Councilor Vanessa Hall-Harper and District 7 Councilor Lori Decter Wright, the Office of Independent Review and Oversight of Public Safety would monitor and review any city investigations concerning incidents or allegations involving public safety departments, including:
- A discharge of a firearm or other use of deadly force against a person;
- A death (…) in the custody of public safety personnel;
- A duty-related death of public safety personnel;
- A use of force resulting in death or serious bodily injury;
- Conduct that, if established, would constitute a felony; or
- Conduct involving the use or threatened use of force that, if established, would constitute a misdemeanor.
Speaking at a Meet the Chief event at the 36th Street North Event Center Monday night, Hall-Harper told Chief Jonathan Brooks councilors have discussed creating independent oversight of the police department since at least 2016. Brooks, a 28-year veteran of the department who was named its leader in August, said as chief he hasn’t been part of the conversation.
“In my opinion, as I’m sitting here as the chief, if I’m doing my job correctly and we are building that trust, there’s not a need for an independent monitor,” Brooks said. “I say, ‘why not just ask me?’ As we move down this path together, we’ll be as transparent and accountable as any monitor could be.”
Brooks also said TPD already has “plenty of oversight.”
“I’ve got the public safety commissioner looking at everything. I’ve got the mayor overlooking, councilors asking questions,” Brooks said. “With that being said, am I worried about it? No, absolutely not. I am not worried about any kind of monitor, because those men and women out there on the street do a great job of working with their community.”
Hall-Harper said she believes an independent monitor would help Tulsans build trust with police. The agenda item falls on the 10th anniversary of the death of Terence Crutcher, an unarmed man shot and killed by a Tulsa police officer.
“I do believe honestly that we need to do something, and the independent aspect of it is, in my opinion, what’s going to bring trust,” Hall-Harper said. “Because we have a trust problem in the city. We just do.”
Reigniting the debate over an independent police monitor
The conversation surrounding whether TPD should be monitored by an independent, third party is not new. Decter Wright said councilors contemplated proposing an oversight office under former Mayor G.T. Bynum’s administration in 2019 that solely focused on policing. The item was placed on a September 2019 agenda but pulled from consideration prior to the meeting.
In 2022, the council considered a charter amendment that would have created an Office of Independent Monitoring. It was denied by a 7-2 vote March 30, 2022 — the same day body camera footage was posted to YouTube showing TPD’s October 2021 arrest of LaDonna Paris, a 70-year-old woman suffering a mental health crisis.
The 2026 death of 33-year-old Michael Glunt reignited the conversation around an independent police monitor. The Oklahoma Eagle previously reported police shot and killed Glunt Feb. 8 near 51st and Sheridan after his mother called 911, saying he was experiencing a mental health crisis and had the family gun.
Glunt’s sister, Karmen Glunt, filed an open records request with the department for the body camera video. She was later told by Mayor Monroe Nichols and Public Safety Commissioner Lauren Roberts no footage of the shooting existed.
Police also originally said Glunt was shot three times, but The Eagle reported in August his autopsy determined he was shot nine times.
“Change doesn’t come without a catalyst, and unfortunately, my brother was the catalyst for this conversation at this time,” Karmen Glunt said. “We’re just trying to keep it from someone else’s brother being the catalyst for the next conversation. It’s just going to happen again.”
In the days and weeks after the shooting, several Tulsans asked councilors to consider a charter amendment providing independent oversight of TPD during council meetings Feb. 11 and 25.
Karmen Glunt, who holds a weekly protest near where her brother was killed, told the Flyer having an independent party reviewing the investigation would have made her feel more “secure.”
“That was something that we just really struggled with in the beginning,” she said. “The only information that was coming out was from the police, and that you know, based on what we knew about what happened, felt contradictory.”
Wednesday’s discussion is the first of two required readings before councilors can vote. If passed, it would employ a full-time director and staff tasked with reviewing completed investigations from public safety departments and determining whether investigators addressed all allegations, considered material witnesses and evidence and complied with policies.
The ordinance would also create an 11-member Civilians Oversight Board tasked with assessing the effectiveness of the oversight office. One member would be appointed from each council district, in addition to two at-large appointees.
While police accountability is a key point behind the proposed ordinance, Decter Wright told the Flyer public safety is more broadly defined in 2026.
“With all the feedback we’ve gotten over the years, the community seems to be really calling for a broader oversight entity,” Decter Wright said. “Obviously, it will include the police, but now we have city security, the firefighters and the Office of Emergency Management that is fully in the city’s purview now.”
Decter Wright said the city already deploys oversight offices for financial controls, like the City Auditor’s Office and the Sales Tax Overview Committee, but not for public safety.
“That’s the largest investment we make with municipal dollars every year, and it’s also the largest ad-valorem settlement dollars that get paid out when things aren’t the way they need to be,” Decter Wright said. “This is like a fiscal responsibility measure, but also a transparency and accountability measure for the public.”
The mayor’s office told the Flyer Monday afternoon Nichols will listen to Wednesday’s discussion.
“As the ordinance is considered, he and the public safety commissioner will be reviewing the details as it relates to City operations,” the statement said.
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