Tulsa County Sheriff Stanley Glanz announced plans on Wednesday to resign after a grand jury recommended that he be removed from office and indicted him on two misdemeanors in an investigation spurred by the fatal shooting of an unarmed black man by a white volunteer deputy.
Advertisement
Glanz acknowledged this recommendation in a statement Wednesday, saying that he told the grand jury “when I testified I would respect their decision”.
The former reserve deputy involved in the shooting, Robert Bates, is awaiting trial on a charge of second-degree manslaughter.
On Friday, Fallin scheduled a special primary election for sheriff for March 1, with a special general election on April 5 if necessary.
The grand jury pointed to a 2009 report on Bates which indicated supervising officers were concerned by his conduct but were pressured to let it go by Glanz and other commanders. Rather, it’s a count of “willful violation of the law” for allegedly taking a $600 monthly travel stipend to pay for the use of his personal vehicle for official business. “This is a statement to never bet against the citizens, the people of Tulsa County”.
Following a hearing Wednesday in Tulsa, Glanz’s lawyer, Scott Wood, said he would resign and Undersheriff Rick Weigel would take over immediately.
The jury left the sheriff’s office with a few words of advice, which was that they need to improve their training and record-keeping. Jurors called for better accountability of field training hours and suggested that the office’s internal affairs department be more autonomous.
Any lawsuit naming Glanz in his official capacity will be inherited by the new sheriff, even if he is named as Sheriff Stanley Glanz.
The sheriff’s office had repeatedly denied the existence of the 2009 memo before it was released by an attorney for the Harris family after the April shooting.
Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Justin Green said Wednesday that deputy Michael Huckeby (huk-uh-BEE) submitted his resignation effective Thursday. He is listed personally on the lawsuit involving the death of Eric Harris.
Advertisement
A grand jury is investigating allegations of wrongdoing in the sheriff’s office.
