Former Tulsa Deputy Hopes Grand Jury Will Hear Truth About TCSO

Former Tulsa County deputy Warren Crittenden had his time before a grand jury Tuesday.  The jury is investigating the Tulsa County Sheriff's Office and whether former Reserve Deputy Bob Bates received special treatment after he gave donations and other gifts to the office.

The grand jury was formed after Bates shot and killed suspect Eric Harris in April, claiming he mistakenly fired his gun rather than his Taser.

The Tulsa County Sheriff's Office fired Crittenden in 2011. Court records say he was questioned about an inappropriate relationship with an exotic dancer and whether he tipped off her work place about a warrant and later failed a lie detector test.

He turned around and sued the sheriff's office, saying they fired him because he filed worker's comp claims for back problems and PTSD. Four years later, he got arrested and charged with murder and sat in jail for six months.

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Crittenden said he was forced at gunpoint to go to an east Tulsa motel while other men went inside and killed a man. Police say the victim was a pimp and had gotten into a disagreement with a woman, and she had called the men to come to her rescue.

Prosecutors recently dropped the murder charge against Crittenden and let him out of jail, and now he is their star witness in the murder case. The grand jury wanted to hear from him too because while he was in jail, Crittenden signed an affidavit saying he thought his signature was forged on some of Bob Bates' training record.

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Crittenden said he sat in that jail cell a long time hoping he would finally get the chance to tell his story, and now that time has come.

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"I hope everyone comes in and tells the truth, a lot of people's eyes are going to be opened to the sheriff's office and I'll leave it at that and it may not be what they're thinking," said former deputy Warren Crittenden.

His attorney says Crittenden has been made out to be a bad guy, and he's glad people are finally learning the truth, not what people assumed.

"For Warren personally, it's a time to start his life again, and it's gratifying that what he has to say is being heard and he's had the opportunity to not only tell the truth, but clear is own name," said attorney Brett Swab.

Crittenden says the best thing about getting out of jail was being able to hug his 13-year-old autistic son for the first time in months.