Oklahoma Highway Patrol can not legally decide to shift the bulk of its patrols away from Oklahoma City and Tulsa, according to a binding Attorney General opinion released Wednesday.
"Oklahoma Statutes requires the OHP to exercise 'primary law enforcement responsibility' for traffic related offenses on interstate and defense highways in Oklahoma," the opinion says. "While sheriffs, municipal police departments, and other peace officers have authority over traffic offenses… such authority is supplemental to the OHP's primary authority."
Democratic Sen. Mark Mann from Oklahoma City had asked Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond for the opinion in July. It was in response to a state plan to shift resources from urban to rural areas.
A statement from the Department of Public Safety said the opinion "may slow our efforts" to spread out resources.
"The opinion that has been issued does not undermine OHP's troop realignment strategy," the statement said. "With that in mind, OHP recognizes the original plan will require some adjustments, and OHP leadership is evaluating appropriate updates to the plan."
State Public Safety Commissioner Tim Tipton had said the Oklahoma Highway Patrol has been spread thin for years. The idea, Tipton said, was to ensure the state has troopers patrolling its major roadways 24 hours a day and 7 days a week.
"This has been a public safety issue that needed to be addressed," Tipton said in July. "And I believe it's reached critical mass where we're not providing that public safety footprint outside these metro areas."
That should mean, he said, a greater capacity to address higher-than-ever service call volumes and assist local cops in all the same ways they do now. Especially in rural areas.
Mann wanted to know if the move was legal under state law.
"The short answer is no, it is not," Drummond said in a Wednesday press conference. "The Oklahoma Highway Patrol cannot make the arbitrary decision to foist its responsibility onto the municipal and county law enforcement of Oklahoma and Tulsa counties."
The OHP can't shuck its patrol responsibilities off just because they are low on manpower, Drummond said, while flanked by Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt and Fraternal Order of Police President Mark Nelson.
If it's a resource question, Drummond said, it's a money question, and if it's a money question, it's a question for the legislature.
Mann applauded the attorney general's opinion shortly after it was released.
"Having troopers on our most heavily traveled highways is crucial for public safety," Mann said. "This opinion clarifies that OHP resources should continue to be available for our metropolitan areas."
Tulsa Police also lauded the decision.
"This clarity comes as a relief to the Tulsa Police Department, as we can continue to concentrate on our core duty of serving and protecting the Tulsa community," Chief Dennis Larsen said in a statement. "Our deep-rooted partnership with the Oklahoma Highway Patrol remains a cornerstone of our operations, and we are committed to furthering this collaboration."
