Newsok Article regarding lawsuit of Canadian County Sheriff from 2010

Newsok Article regarding lawsuit from 2010

Bottom line of the incident is, a peace officer using deadly force is judged based on the factors at the time of the incident, he was justified in his actions.

Oklahoma Self Defense Act License's

On November 1st of this year (2012), a fundamental change will begin concerning the ability to “Open Carry” a firearm.  Over the past few months, law enforcement has been receiving training about the new law and proper responses to various issues which may arise.  Under the Open Carry provisions, generally persons with a valid Oklahoma Self Defense Act (SDA) license can now legally carry an unconcealed firearm.  The Oklahoma Legislature also allowed for any person to lawfully carry a firearm on their own property.  One issue I was curious about was the number of SDA licenses issued and below is my findings based in part on information from the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI): 

Canadian County Licenses

According to the 2010 Census, Canadian County had a population of 115,541 people with a land area of approximately 897 square miles. The OSBI prior to 2007 did not  indicate the number of applications received from the county. A rough estimate on the number of licenses considering the approved numbers minus the revoked and suspended licenses shows approximately 6,335 active licenses. Related to the Sheriff's Office, the Oklahoma SDA statute allows for the County Sheriff to charge up to $25.00 (twenty-five) for fingerprints and up to $10.00 (ten) dollars for two passport type photographs per applicant.   

 

State of Oklahoma Licenses 

According to the 2010 Census, the State of Oklahoma had a population of 3,751,351 people. The OSBI prior to 2007 did not indicate the number of applications received by the state. A rough estimate on the number of licenses considering the approved numbers minus the revoked and suspended licenses shows approximately 176,033 active licenses.  



CLEET Licensed Personnel

The below graph shows data from the Oklahoma Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training (CLEET). The data shows the number of peace officers (full-time and reserve) as well as private security personnel licensed for 2011 (the last year of data). 



Therefore, based on the estimate of 176,033 active SDA licenses, CLEET certified peace officers and armed security licenses, we have approximately 194,730 lawfully licensed people in the state which accounts for 5.19% of the population of 3,751,351 people (2010 census). When considering just Canadian County and only the approved SDA licenses, we have approximately 5.48% of the population licensed (does not include peace officers or armed security licenses). Interesting trivia,lol.

2011 Uniform Crime Report (UCR)

This past week, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) released the Uniform Crime Report (UCR) for 2011.  Since the primary election in late June of this year, I am no longer a part of the campaign process but the safety and well-being of the public is important to me, as well as a desire to see honest information put forth for people to make informed decisions. 

On October 30, 2011 during the campaign, I published an article titled County Crime Statistics on this blog concerning the OSBI UCR report for 2010.  During the campaign, I cited the increase in crime was attributed (in my opinion) to decreased patrols which is a factor in detecting, deterring, preventing or apprehending criminal activity.  

One example, I mentioned several times related to inefficient patrol activity was, having Evening shift patrol personnel saddled with the service of civil processes instead of patrolling the county.  Another factor for the decreased patrols is: poor scheduling/staffing patterns including having two and at times one deputy patrolling the entire county.   

An additional factor was creating “programs”, while not addressing the core functions of the Sheriff’s Office.  One such program, the “School Security” program did nothing but reduce the time on patrol for these personnel while not serving as an adequate deterrent.  The program required patrol deputies to spend a significant amount of their shifts checking the six school locations TWICE during each school day.  In addition, some of the schools being addressed were within municipalities which have their own police departments to handle the “feel good” program.  Although the underlying theory of the program was good, going to the opposite extreme did nothing but create deficiencies.  Having day shift deputies checking schools and evening shift deputies serving civil processes ultimately reduced the amount of time devoted to patrol duties.  As a sidenote, in all fairness to the incumbent, with the Juvenile Center paying for six Deputies (for over a year now) to handle Truancy issues this has improved the particular situation although an entirely different set of issues could be discussed with this created program. 

Upon reviewing the UCR data released this past week, I believe the statistical information continues to support my opinion that the incumbent is not effectively addressing the crime issues of this county.  The incumbent has touted the creation of a number of programs but little has been developed to address the core functions of the Sheriff’s Office which is “protecting the peace and dignity of the county” which is evidenced by these increased crime statistics (as noted in the campaign, I do not support creation of programs for the sake of creating new programs often when they are unneeded or a duplication of current efforts).  On September 26th, the incumbent claimed in a print media article that crime in the county was not up, larcenies were up "minutely" and he indicated crime in the county was cyclical (not his word and to a point is true).  Again, the statistical information shown below bears out the falsehood of the incumbents claim.

I encourage you to reach you own conclusions and thoroughly research the incumbent and the remaining challenger, Joshua Moore which will be chosen during the General Election on November 6th. 

Crime Index

Below is the Crime Index for the Canadian County Sheriff's Office for 2000 thru 2011, as determined by information submitted to the OSBI. The Crime Index is the sum total of the 7 major offenses used to measure the extent, fluctuation and distribution of crime in a given area. Crime classifications used in the index are: (1) murder, (2) forcible rape, (3) robbery, (4) felonious assault, (5) breaking and entering, (6) larceny (theft), and (7) motor vehicle theft. Note-the incumbent took office in January of 2009, Sheriff Lewis Hawkins was in office during the 2000-2008 period. 

 

 

Crime per 1,000 population comparison

In the past, the incumbent has made the claim that crime has decreased statewide. The below graphic shows a comparison of crimes per 1,000 people for crime reported by the Sheriff's Office, the average for Canadian County and the average for the State of Oklahoma. Note-Incumbent took office in January of 2009, Sheriff Lewis Hawkins was in office in 2008 and prior.

  



 

 

Comparison with law enforcement agencies within Canadian County

Below is a comparison of crimes per 1,000 people reported by law enforcement agencies in Canadian County (Sheriff's Office, El Reno, Yukon, Mustang and Piedmont Police Department's) by the OSBI. Data for the Calumet Police Department was not available for three years so it is not shown. In addition, this comparison shows three full years (2009-2011) with the incumbent in office and data for the previous three years (2006-2008) under Sheriff Lewis Hawkins direction.

 

 

 

 

Index Crimes of the Sheriff's Office

Below is the Index Crimes for the Canadian County Sheriff's Office from 2001 to 2011. Murder, Rape and Arson were not included based on the limited fluctuations of these crimes and to improve comparison abilities.  Note-Incumbent came into office in January of 2009, from 2001-2008 Sheriff Lewis Hawkins was in office.

 



 



 

 

Raw OSBI UCR Data for Canadian County Sheriff's Office

Finally, the last graphic is the raw data from 2000 thru 2011 for the Canadian County Sheriff's Office.  Also included is county average and state average for crimes per 1,000 people.

 

 

I do intend to do my best to continue to stay out of the race but do feel knowledge is power. I plan to have one other post in the near future related to Concealed Handgun licenses which will be more informational than anything else.  For more information related to the UCR information or to review the data yourself, you can visit the following link for additional information: OSBI UCR Data

This is definately familiar and something to watch:  http://www.news9.com/story/19104754/property-tax-protest-tulsa-county-checks-and-balances-questioned

Signs, signs, everywhere signs ......

As we continue our efforts to introduce and educate the voters about our message, we also continue our efforts to observe the legal requirements related to campaigns.  Many of our supporters have requested campaign signs and are interested in starting the next phase of our campaign efforts.   We appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding as well as recognizing the importance, we have attached in waiting for the proper time to place campaign signs. 

As we have noted before, we feel if we cannot follow the law through our own actions, how can voters expect us to enforce the law once in office.  To be an effective and trusted leader, you must lead by example.  This past weekend and throughout the week, the incumbent has started placing campaign signs in various areas, in violation of municipal ordinance.  Although, we continually strive to follow the law we know mistakes happen so therefore to help the incumbent and other candidates, we will share our findings on placing campaign signs in the larger municipalities.  We understand the incumbents actions should be getting corrected in the future through contacts with many of you that have called and shared their inquiries, thank you for your diligence.    

We intend to continue setting the example and not the pace in the campaign, addressing issues and concerns while continuing this philosophy into elected office, carrying out the duties entrusted by you and other involved citizens.   If anyone finds anything in conflict with this information, please let us know, we would be glad to share the information (generally in all areas signs are not to be placed within the city easements).           

1.      El Reno can only post signs 30 days before an election and must be removed within 5 days after the election; website source: http://www.ecode360.com/8106065#8106065

2.      Oklahoma City has no significant restrictions on sign placement but cannot be on city easements, http://library.municode.com/index.aspx?clientId=17000

3.      Mustang can only post campaign signs 30 days before an election and must be removed within 3 days. website source: http://library.municode.com/mobile/document.aspx?_url=http%3a%2f%2flibrary.municode.com%2fshowDocumentFrame.aspx%3fclientID%3d13253%26docID%3d0

4.      Piedmont can only post signs 45 days before an election and must be removed within 15 days; website source: http://piedmont-ok.gov/ordinances.htm

5.      Yukon-cannot be located in the right of way and cannot stay up for more than sixty days; website source: http://library.municode.com/mobile/document.aspx?_url=http%3a%2f%2flibrary.municode.com%2fshowDocumentFrame.aspx%3fclientID%3d10203%26docID%3d0

Political Position

A little over a week ago, I had an interesting question posed to me via Facebook. In the interest of brevity, the main question was as follows: “Is there a reason why you list yourself as a Conservative Republican when running for The Office of Sheriff?  The reason why I ask this is because I don't believe it's the place of a Conservative-Republican, Democrat-Liberal or whatever to be Sheriff in this country. I personally believe a sheriffs character should be solely independent of political parties & should be based on what the law states a sheriff should pursue, not political parties. That should be a concern of anyone that votes.  My question expands on to ask: Does that mean that if one is a Republican that you will turn your head the other way and pursue Democrats who fall short? I Just thought I would throw that out there. I hope that is not the case. I would hope, as with every person that would come through your county they are treated not as a Democrat or Republican but rather as a human”.

As a result of the question, I thought maybe I should explain why I have identified myself with a particular political party and how I came to be conclusion that I reached.

In Oklahoma, the office of Sheriff is a constitutionally created office and is a partisan position. Currently the only non-partisan (does not require a political affiliation) positions that I am aware of are: Judges, school board members and city council/mayor positions. In the last legislative session there was an attempt (Senate Bill 327) to make the election of Sheriff non-partisan but it was unsuccessful. Therefore, as a candidate for Sheriff, I must announce a partisan position for the office.

In the 2008 election cycle, there were approximately 20,200 Democrats, 31,744 Republicans, 6,009 Independents with a total of 57,983 registered voters in the county.  In the election for Sheriff, the incumbent won by receiving 4,436 votes (61%) while the prior incumbent lost, receiving 2,790 votes (39%). That particular election was decided in the primary where approximately a third of the county’s population was eligible to vote with only approximately 23% of the Republicans exercising their right to vote. I also find it interesting that in the last election, approximately ten percent of the total county population actually voiced their opinions at the polls.

I sincerely expect based on historical elections in this county as well as the strength of the party in the county, our next Sheriff will also be decided in the primary election phase of the election cycle. So why I am running as a Republican candidate for the office?   

Initially, when I was old enough to register to vote, I immediately registered as a Democrat because in Custer County all the elected county offices were of the same party. I was told at the time, if I wished to have a vote in local elections then I would have to be a Democrat. At the time of my registration, President Ronald Reagan was in his second term in office and before his term was complete, I had changed my registration to Republican. An interesting side note here is, in Canadian County it is exactly the opposite with the county offices being held by Republicans.

I found as I researched the national party platforms, I supported more of the Republican values than the other party. I particularly liked President Reagan who portrayed strength, leadership, confidence and the ability to energize the population in order to provide our country with direction. Therefore, I became and remain a Reagan Republican believing that our national government often creates more problems than it solves especially in the terms of over regulation, over taxation and unnecessary government spending. President Reagan went against the main stream thought on many issues and employed common sense solutions which led us to increased prosperity and improved national pride among his other accomplishments.    

During President Reagan’s second term, he took a stronger approach on the War on Drugs. He said that “drugs were menacing our society” and promised to fight for drug-free schools and workplaces, expanded drug treatment, stronger law enforcement and drug interdiction efforts, and greater public awareness including his support of Red Ribbon week, which was started in his second term. Throughout my law enforcement career, I have seen the results of his increased war on drugs and have been a participant in those efforts that he spearheaded.  I have also seen the devastation and damage that illegal drugs create and know that as a society we must do something to address the menacing effects that illegal drugs have on our communities.  

In regards to conservatism, this too is rooted in Reagan Republican philosophies. According to a June 2010 Pew poll, 9% of Americans identify themselves as “very conservative”, 30% as “conservative”, 36% as “moderate”, 16%  as “liberal” and 6% as “very liberal”.  These percentages have been fairly constant since 1990. Although I believe this label is often overused and misunderstood, I also know there are also a number of variations to this title as well.

President Reagan said the basis of conservatism is a desire for less government interference or less centralized authority or more individual freedom.  “Freedom is not created by Government, nor is it a gift from those in political power.  It is, in fact, secured, more than anything else, by limitations placed on those in Government”.  I believe those of us that are students of the law are very vigilant about the protections afforded through the Constitution and we strive to ensure respect and adherence to those rights which are afforded every citizen. 

President Reagan solidified conservative values with tax cuts, deregulation, a policy of rolling back Communism (rather than just containing it), a greatly strengthened military, and appeals to family values. Other conservative issues are related to support for prayer in the public schools, support for the right to bear arms, securing the U.S. borders, and strict enforcement of the law. I agree with these principles and respect the rights of others related to these issues.

Having discussed my personal philosophies, I also agree that politics should not be a factor when delivering law enforcement services and discharging the duties of the office. I intend to treat each person equally with dignity as I have done throughout my life and do not plan to change once I am elected to office. I also do not support the use of “smoke and mirrors” in reporting information to the public in an effort to embellish, sway or manipulate public opinion.  As President Reagan demonstrated during his administration, provide the public with the honest facts and if it is an unfavorable event seek their help and/or understanding but above all else, tell the truth!!!!   

The personal philosophies, I do intend to apply to discharging my duties is common sense, leadership as well as strong fiscal responsibility and discipline. During the period the incumbent has been in office, I personally believe the incumbent has not spent money in a disciplined or at the least a strategic manner. These are tax dollars entrusted to our elected officials and I do not believe in wasteful spending. I also believe with issues confronting us especially related to our continued growth, we need to build alliances and work together in a respectful manner to address the problems. These alliances will also include the availability of social media, so we can communicate more directly and quickly to the public in order to educate and inform the citizens of the county.  By utilizing the knowledge and skills of a street cop not a politician, we can see improvements in the areas that must be addressed and rest assured, I know what is broken and what needs to be fixed.   

Gypsy Paving Company

http://www.news9.com/story/16149167/el-reno-couple-turns-tables-on-scammers

As the election season rapidly approaches, I have noticed more news stories regarding activities of the Sheriff’s Office. I watched one such story last night on KWTV (News 9) (story linked at tope of page) and immediately recognized it as an incident which had occurred several weeks ago. Although I have no idea why the delay in getting this bit of news to the media, I could not help but once again be amazed at the claims of the incumbent.

As mentioned previously, my hat is continually off to the men and women doing the job and once again they did what was expected of them. I am also glad the offending party was caught and more victims were not created. However, I can’t help but see the absurdity in the statement made by the incumbent in the news story.   

The telling statement was:

Edwards and his deputy found numerous violations with Professional Asphalt's equipment and vehicles. They wrote them over $2500 in fines and impounded their equipment. The Sheriff also gave the crew a strong message to take home.

 "I told the contractor that if I was to ever catch him working here in Canadian County again, I would do more than just impound his equipment," Edwards said. "He'd got to jail for defrauding the elderly. He assured me he would never work in Canadian County again."


According to the video, the victim learned from two other neighbors they too had also fell victim to the company’s alleged fraudulent behavior. Therefore, considering you have three possible victims in the scam, the answer is not to do the easiest thing possible, write the company traffic tickets. Under the Home Repair Fraud Act, found in Title 15, Section 765.2 of the Oklahoma State Statues, the described behavior is actually a crime, specifically a felony crime punishable by up to ten years in prison.

I know all too well the frequency and havoc that these con-artists, often referred to as travelers or gypsies cause to unsuspecting people, particularly the elderly. In one particular case I worked several years ago, I am certain felony arrest warrants are still outstanding for these scam artists. Self-imposed banishment or merely threatening, this highly mobile group of individuals does nothing in the terms of deterrence of these people. This statement may make a good sound bite on television but reality is definitely not on the incumbent’s side. Finally, I would be interested in seeing what actually happens to this group through the court system on the action which was actually taken. The seizure and impoundment of the equipment in this matter is highly suspect but time shall tell the legalities and necessities of such action.    

I found some good warning signs for these types of con-artists that people should keep in mind in the event they ever have these too good to be true bargains offered to them:

Here are 7 asphalt paving warning signs:

1. Selling door-to-door: Reputable asphalt contractors will sometimes offer their services if they are doing a legitimate job in the immediate area. Always ask for references.
2. Claiming they have leftover asphalt from another job: Professional asphalt contractors will know, with great accuracy, how much paving material is needed to complete a project. Rarely will they have leftover material. Some of the reasons a contractor might have left over material are due to weather, equipment problems, cancellations and etc.
3. Push you to make a quick decision: Reputable contractors will provide a written estimate that will be valid for weeks or months. If the great deal they are offering you today is not available tomorrow or next week it may be a scam.
4. No contract offered: Insist upon a written contract specifying in detail, the work to be performed and the agreed upon price.
5. Cash only sales: Most reputable contractors take checks or credit cards and don’t require cash-only terms.
6. Deals that seem to be good to be true: If the quoted price seems very low, chances are the quality of the work will also be quite low.
7. Unmarked truck: Often the trucks they travel in are unmarked or they have an out of town address and phone number. A little research will reveal that they have no permanent address and the phone number is often an answering machine.

A professionally designed and properly constructed asphalt pavement will last for many years and most reputable contractors will stand behind their work. Know who you are doing business with. Consumers are safer dealing with a contractor who has roots in the community.