Attorney General Gentner Drummond issued a binding formal opinion today declaring the Oklahoma Highway Patrol (OHP) is bound by law to continue serving the state’s major metropolitan areas and does not have the authority to carry out its stated plan to abandon interstates in Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Del City, Edmond, Midwest City, Moore and Norman.
“The most fundamental function of government is to provide public safety for its citizens,” Drummond said. “The Oklahoma Highway Patrol is vested with primary law enforcement authority on our interstates, and that authority imposes a mandatory duty. I will not allow Gov. Stitt or OHP leadership to put Oklahoma citizens at risk by refusing to patrol our most densely populated areas.”
The Attorney General’s opinion, requested by state Sen. Mark Mann, notes that Title 47, section 2-117(D)(2) of Oklahoma statute makes clear that the “Oklahoma Highway Patrol Division shall have primary law enforcement authority respecting traffic-related offenses upon the [Interstates]” and is “to investigate and report traffic collisions on all [Interstates].”
The opinion acknowledged OHP’s contention that rural Oklahoma warrants additional attention.
“To be sure, this office has no reason to doubt that there is an increased need for more resources in rural Oklahoma to ensure the coverage and service Oklahomans expect from OHP,” states the opinion. “More to the point, this office concludes that the OHP’s ‘primary law enforcement authority respecting traffic-related offenses’ on Oklahoma’s Interstates is a mandatory duty that cannot be abdicated in favor of local law enforcement, either in urban or rural areas.”
Drummond said he discussed the matter extensively with local law enforcement leaders whose communities would be negatively impacted by an OHP withdrawal.
“I greatly appreciate the law enforcement leaders from these areas because they are deeply committed to protecting and serving,” he said. “I am proud to collaborate with such fine public servants and partner with them to advance public safety in their communities.”
By contrast, Drummond said no one in OHP leadership or the Department of Public Safety consulted with him about their plans to eliminate metropolitan patrols. He said he remains willing to work with them to ensure they fulfill their legal duty and provide the highest level of protection possible for Oklahomans.
“As the chief law enforcement officer in the state, my highest priority is public safety,” Drummond said. “I will gladly work with Secretary Everest and OHP leadership to establish a plan that complies with the law and protects all four million Oklahomans.”
