Glenpool man says he was booked into Tulsa County Jail and then 'lost' for almost four hours

Friday, January 19th 2001, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

Getting booked into jail is easy. But getting out quickly may be another matter, according to a Glenpool man who spent a few hours at the county jail Wednesday. Itâ€™s been a tough year for Leroy Harmon of Glenpool. He called police last year only to be arrested himself on a charge of obstructing justice. Then his arm was broken during the arrest, and he was accused of resisting.

Thursday he went to court, and was ordered released to await trial. He spent hours wading through the procedures of the county jail. "It was approximately 9 or 9:30 when they put the handcuffs on me, and it was almost 2:30 when I got out,â€ Harmon said.

The first wait was at the courthouse, but his booking and release took three and a half hours at the jail. The wait would have been only an inconvenience, if Harmon had not been in a wheelchair, unable to move much, because he has limited use of his arms. "The whole time, every time I would ask somebody for help they would say, it wasn't their responsibility to help me," he said.

The wait could have been life threatening, since Harmon is a diabetic.
"I have been a diabetic for 16 years, and I need my insulin,â€ he explained. She said, â€˜well, we can't give it to you without a doctors orders.â€™ And I said, â€˜how can I get a doctors orders when I'm in jail?â€™"

Harmonâ€™s attorney waited, and says she was told they couldn't find him.
â€œThey essentially lost him from 10 am to 2 pm,â€ said Aundrea Smith.

A jail spokesperson says there was nothing unusual about the way Harmon's release was handled, that it was faster than most. They say the procedures in this case, two physicals for a person about to leave, are important to protect the jail, and those inside it. However, Harmon and his attorney believe even the accused should get better treatment from Tulsa's jail. The man arrested was to be booked in, and released from jail on two misdemeanor counts. What should have been a relatively quick process, took three and a half hours, while a diabetic man waited in a wheelchair.

Because of his broken arm which occurred during the arrest, Harmon filed a multi-million dollar brutality lawsuit against the Glenpool police department which is still pending. He's since been charged with two misdemeanors, which he and his attorney believe came as a result of filing the lawsuit.