Police hiring, training, and disciplinary requirements in Tulsa, Oklahoma
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This page provides an overview of policies related to the hiring, training, and discipline of police officers in Tulsa, Okla. It is part of an analysis of police union collective bargaining agreements and related arrangements with police unions concerning hiring, training, and disciplinary requirements in the 50 states and top 100 cities by population.
Background
Through the lens of 40 research questions related to police hiring, training, and discipline, Ballotpedia examined the collective bargaining agreements, statutes, and regulatory codes governing the 50 states and the top 100 US cities by population.
Some of the hiring, training, and discipline standards for police officers not established by statutes or regulations arise from negotiations with police unions. Those negotiations are often codified in collective bargaining agreements (CBAs). Those agreements are the contracts that states and cities sign following negotiations with police unions. Some states and cities restrict collective bargaining, but may still negotiate with police unions using other methods. After negotiating with the unions, those jurisdictions sometimes establish police standards through documents including memoranda of understanding or meet and confer agreements.
Results
The tables below link to each question Ballotpedia used to analyze the states and cities and indicates how Tulsa handles police hiring, training, and discipline. To see the provisions Ballotpedia used to support these results, click here.
CBA basics
| CBA basics | Results |
|---|---|
| Is there a CBA with the police union? | YES |
| Is the current CBA publicly available online? | YES |
Discipline and accountability
| Discipline and accountability | Results |
|---|---|
| Does the CBA forbid the transfer or reassignment of an officer as a form of discipline? | NO |
| Do officers have a right to request third-party arbitration for grievances, including over disciplinary actions? | YES |
Condition: Disciplinary action may be appealed through the grievance/arbitration procedure; Selection: Both parties alternately strike names from a list provided; Provider: The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service provides a panel of seven arbitrators; Arbitrator authority: The arbitrator's decision is final and bindingDisciplinary action appeals must be filed within 10 days. Grievances may be appealed to arbitration within 10 days of the grievance procedure decision by written request to the human resources director. | |
| Does the CBA contain provisions related to discipline for misconduct? | YES |
Primary discipline authority: City of Tulsa, Police Department; Types: Suspension, demotion, dismissal; Restricted aspects: N/A; Challenge/appeal process: Union grievance procedure, Civil Service Commission, or arbitrationEmployees will be notified of charges prior to interrogation and will be allowed union/legal representation. Officer will be informed at 90 days regarding status of investigation if not resolved. | |
| Does the CBA explicitly allow for a state ombudsman outside particular police departments to hold law enforcement officers accountable for misconduct? | NO |
Legal limitations or provisions
| Legal limitations or provisions | Results |
|---|---|
| Does the city CBA prohibit felons from becoming law enforcement officers? | NO |
| Are there any statutes or regulations that prohibit collective bargaining with police unions? | NO |
Training and counseling
Community relations and oversight
| Community relations and oversight | Results |
|---|---|
| Does the CBA reference citizen review boards? | NO |
| Does the CBA have provisions related to community policing? | YES |
A member of the FOP will be in charge of "community-related training" and "various community initiatives that would benefit the Lodge, the Tulsa Police Department and the City of Tulsa." | |
Investigations
| Investigations | Results |
|---|---|
| Does the CBA contain provisions related to misconduct investigations? | YES |
Discipline; Officer bill of rights under investigation. Officers under investigation will be updated every 90 days Article 11 allows for reduction of accrued vacation time as "an effective means of corrective discipline which does not impose financial hardship on the Employee and does not create a manning problem for the Employer." | |
| Does the CBA require notice to officers of investigations? | YES |
Conditions: N/A; Timeline: N/A; Content: Must include allegations and the nature of the investigation; name of complainants; rank, name, and command of the Officer in charge of the investigation; the interrogating Officer; and all persons present during the interrogation | |
| Does the CBA determine a timeline for investigations? | NO |
| Does the CBA contain provisions related to compensation during misconduct investigations? | NO |
Evidence and records
| Evidence and records | Results |
|---|---|
| Does the CBA have provisions related to the use of body-worn cameras or body-worn camera video evidence? | NO |
| Does the CBA regulate processes for retaining officer disciplinary records? | YES |
Record storage: City-specific database; Storage authority: N/A; Types of records: Counseling documentation, Division Letters of Reprimand, Department Letters of Reprimand and Vacation Reductions, and Suspensions and Orders of Demotion; Timeline: Counseling documentation and Division Letters of Reprimand are purged and expunged after 1 year, Department Letters of Reprimand and Vacation Reductions are purged and expunged after 3 years, Suspensions and Orders of Demotion are purged and expunged after 5 years; Access and use: Employees have access to personnel files; Use in decisions: N/A"if the discipline relates to dishonesty by the Employee being disciplined the time periods for purging and expunging shall be increased to two years for counseling documentation, two years for Division Letters of Reprimand, and five years for Department Letters of Reprimand, and seven years for Suspensions, Vacation Reductions, and Orders of Demotion." | |
Qualifications and evaluation
| Qualifications and evaluation | Results |
|---|---|
| Does the CBA require performance evaluations? | NO |
| Does the CBA restrict licensing procedures for law enforcement officers or departments? | NO |
Union authority
| Union authority | Results |
|---|---|
| Does the CBA limit union authority to pay and benefits issues? | NO |
| Does the CBA give the union the power to approve or disapprove new training programs for law enforcement officers? | NO |
| Does the CBA have provisions involving the union in the process for promotions, unit assignments, and transfers? | NO |
Employer retains right to hire, promote, transfer, assign | |
See also
Footnotes
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