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House to Consider Proposal to Let Sheriffs Hire Outside Counsel for Deputies in Shootings

Matt Trotter
/
KWGS

Oklahoma lawmakers are being asked to approve an expansion of a law allowing certain county officials to hire outside counsel.

House Bill 2231 was unanimously approved by a House committee. It would let sheriffs hire an independent attorney to assist deputies involved in shootings. Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office attorney Terry Simonson said it can be difficult for deputies immediately after a shooting.

"They're put on administrative leave, and they're told, 'Don't talk to anybody in the office. Give me your phone. Give me your laptop. Give me your ticket book. Give me everything,' and you're on your own," Simonson said. "And you're over there being investigated. The district attorney that's normally your protector? Now he's your prosecutor."

Simonson said deputies have no collective bargaining organization like police officers do in the Fraternal Order of Police. Sheriffs could not continue paying outside counsel if a deputy were charged with a crime in a shooting.

Republican Rep. Glen Mulready sponsors HB2231 and said public dollars may or may not be used.

"We're not dictating that. It could be public dollars from within that budget. He may try to raise some private funds for a separate defense fund for deputies," Mulready said.

The proposal does not extend to volunteer deputies.

Matt Trotter joined KWGS as a reporter in 2013. Before coming to Public Radio Tulsa, he was the investigative producer at KJRH. His freelance work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times and on MSNBC and CNN.