Chief Franklin Reflects On 1st Year As Head Of Tulsa Police Department

Tulsa Police Chief Wendell Franklin told News On 6 his first year as head of the department came with many tragedies that will leave his officers with emotional scars for years.

The chief, who was sworn in February 2020, said he is also excited for some big things happening behind the scenes in the coming months.

"I was young and naive then,” Franklin laughed. “I look at the photo and I'm smiling. And today, I'm still smiling, but boy, what a difference a year makes."

The chief said the biggest toll on his department in 2020 was losing some of their own.

First, Sgt. Craig Johnson was shot in the line of duty. Then, Officer Jerad Lindsey and dispatcher Joey Philips both died of COVID-19.

"That has just been a tremendous toll on our department,” said Franklin.

Plus, hundreds of the department's approximately 840 officers have been in quarantine throughout the Coronavirus crisis.

The chief said while the pandemic will continue to bring many challenges, the department has a 97 percent solve rate on homicides and is working on cracking down on reckless behavior, such as drag racing.

Franklin said he's also excited about adding new equipment to help the department better protect our city.

“We have a records management system that touches every aspect of our department and other pieces of technology that come along with that, such as a new mobile CAD system for officers in patrol to have better access, better communications between the dispatchers," explained Franklin.

Franklin also said he is grateful to the city for building up its rainy-day fund years ago, which helped protect officers and firefighters from being furloughed during the pandemic.