Some Tulsans are calling for an independent monitor for the Tulsa Police Department. The request stems from concerns over police shootings and multimillion-dollar payouts.
Community members say the need for an independent monitor is increasingly urgent, citing the recent deadly police shooting of Michael Glunt. The Oklahoma Eagle reported this week that after Glunt’s family asked for police video of the Feb. 8 shooting, city officials told them it didn’t exist.
During a February city council meeting, at least 20 people said the city should fulfill the plan for police oversight promised nearly four years ago under former Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum.
Renewed calls for an independent monitor
An independent, civilian-led police monitor would provide third-party oversight of local law enforcement to increase accountability and transparency. Key functions include reviewing policies, data and equitable operations.
Tashi McKellop, a Tulsa resident, made the case for an independent police monitor at the February council meeting. She recalls the positive impact of a police monitor in her former home of Boulder, Colorado.
McKellop, who is Indigenous, says her community has a history of feeling targeted by police.
“As an Indigenous person I know that my community — we protect each other, we look out for each other and we call each other for things maybe we should be able to call external help for. But, there is more fear than trust there,” McKellop said.
“An office of an independent monitor would provide some really necessary oversight to holding police accountable to actually showing up to protect people and build some more trust in the community,” she added.
Hudson Harder, also a Tulsa resident, cited the city’s multimillion-dollar payouts in civil cases over police-civilian interactions as a key reason the Tulsa Police Department needs more oversight.
In November last year, Tulsa approved a $26.5 million settlement to William Henry Jamerson for a wrongful conviction and imprisonment for a rape he did not commit. The city also paid a $15 million settlement for the wrongful conviction of two men in a 1994 drive-by shooting. In total, the city has paid out nearly $40 million since late 2025.
Harder is skeptical of where the city stands on the matter. But he believes more civilian engagement could bring change.
“(Jamerson’s settlement) is nothing to sneeze at. This is a man who was in prison for decades. That is unacceptable, and I think it is pretty strange that the council and the city has not moved on this at all or very little since that incident,” said Harder. “This idea of an independent monitor has existed for a while, and I think it is worth revisiting because we are not living up to where we need to be.”
City leaders watching but waiting
Tulsa police deferred the Flyer’s questions about an independent police monitor to the city.
While the City of Tulsa is “tracking the community conversations” about the request, no clear action is being taken otherwise, according to city spokesman Carson Colvin.
City councilors are weighing the demands for a monitor. In interviews, several councilors said they prioritize resident safety and are developing proposals in response to increasing public demands.
“I think accountability and transparency with our police, fire and animal services is critical to gaining and maintaining trust with Tulsans. We must also create a culture in our city where officers, firefighters etc. feel supported and treated fairly. It must go both ways,” District 2 Councilor Anthony Archie told the Flyer.
“Any solution, whether it’s reforming the Community Advisory Board or establishing a type of OIM needs to accomplish both goals. Some councilors are working on various proposals, and I’m looking forward to those discussions,” he added.
The Tulsa City Council rejected a 2022 vote to create a police monitoring office. Although the former mayor announced plans for the Office of the Independent Monitor in 2019, he later withdrew the proposal due to political conflicts with the Tulsa Fraternal Order of Police.
District 4 Councilor Laura Bellis told the Flyer the 2015 fatal shooting of Eric Harris by a volunteer Tulsa County sheriff’s deputy and the deadly 2016 TPD deadly shooting of Terence Crutcher have driven the collective demand in Tulsa for an independent monitor.
“There is kind of like a history there,” Bellis said. “It is kind of a new discussion we have been having over the last few months is, what if it was broader. Not just about the police, but our total public safety apparatus.”
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