Tulsa Police fires officer indicted on drug charges

<br>TULSA, Okla. (AP) _ A Tulsa police sergeant facing federal charges he participated in an illegal drug conspiracy has been fired, the department said Thursday. <br><br>Police Chief David Been fired

Thursday, March 27th 2003, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

TULSA, Okla. (AP) _ A Tulsa police sergeant facing federal charges he participated in an illegal drug conspiracy has been fired, the department said Thursday.

Police Chief David Been fired Kirk Hewitt after a pre-termination hearing Wednesday that followed an internal affairs investigation, the department said. Hewitt has 10 days to appeal.

Hewitt, 32 and a nine-year police veteran, and Richard Samuel Sanchez, 32, were indicted March 18 by a Texas grand jury with possessing gama hydroxybutyrate, or GHB, with intent to distribute and possession of a firearm.

The pair were arrested Feb. 18 after drugs were allegedly found in Hewitt's vehicle during a traffic stop for speeding in Sherman, Texas. They refused to allow officers to search the car but a drug-sniffing dog smelled narcotics during an open-air search, authorities say.

The Grayson County Sheriff's Office said the men also had less than one gram of ketamine hydrochloride, known as Special K, and less than four grams of methamphetamine in the car.

Controlled substances also were found during a search of Hewitt's home on Feb. 18, Tulsa police said Thursday.

The other drugs were not included in the conspiracy indictment, for which Hewitt and Sanchez were arrested March 17 in Tulsa by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

Hewitt, a patrol officer who was promoted to sergeant in 1999, was suspended with pay Feb. 18.