Construction crews work Monday to complete the Sheriff Stanley Glanz Law Enforcement Training Center at 6094 E. 66th St. North. County Commissioner John Smaligo said this week that commissioners should review naming the facility after Glanz in light of the fact that he was indicted by a grand jury on two misdemeanors. KEVIN CANFIELD/The Frontier
Back in 2013, Tulsa County officials thought so much of Sheriff Stanley Glanz’s idea to build a law enforcement training center that they agreed to lend the Sheriff’s Office $1.66 million to purchase the land for the project and cover other costs.
The brochure created to promote the training center states that employees decided to name the facility the Sheriff Stanley Glanz Law Enforcement Training Center “in honor of Sheriff Glanz’s continued commitment to education and training.”
Last week, a Tulsa County grand jury recommended Glanz be removed from office, in part because of his alleged role in manipulating training records of a reserve deputy who also happened to be his longtime friend.
Now, at least one county commissioner believes it’s time to review the decision to name the training center after Glanz, and none of his fellow commissioners are standing up to insist the name remain.
“I believe the BOCC (Board of County Commissioners) should review its previous actions related to the naming before any money is spent on signage,” said Commissioner John Smaligo.
Smaligo stopped short of calling for Glanz’s name to be removed from the facility, saying, “My understanding is Sheriff Glanz’s name isn’t on any part of the facility at this time.”
Sheriff Stanley Glanz leaves the Tulsa County Courthouse last month after testifying before a grand jury. With him is his attorney, Scott Wood. The grand jury indicted Glanz on two misdemeanors and recommended he be removed from office. DYLAN GOFORTH/The Frontier
It is not. However, commissioners in 2013 approved a resolution naming the facility the Sheriff Stanley Glanz Law Enforcement Training Center. The official groundbreaking for the event took place in July 2014.
Commissioners Ron Peters and Karen Keith said this week that this is not the time to decide whether to remove Glanz’s name from the project.
“As far as the name goes, we have time to consider our options and will do so in a timely fashion,” Keith said.
Peters said he believes “that decision should be made after all of the emotions surrounding this issue have calmed.”
A Tulsa County grand jury last week indicted Glanz on two misdemeanors and recommended his removal from office. Glanz has announced he will retire Nov. 1.
The Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office created a brochure, part of which is shown above, promoting the Sheriff Stanley Glanz Law Enforcement Training Center and what the facility would include. Courtesy
The facility is intended to provide a place for Sheriff’s Office employees and other area law enforcement agencies to train.
Steve Emmons, executive director of the Council on Law Enforcement Education, said the training center could be used for CLEET-required continuing education classes and might someday be a place to hold an off-site CLEET academy for new law enforcement officers.
CLEET’s only training academy is in Ada.
Work on the 26,000-square-foot training center at 6094 E. 66th St. North continues. The training center is expected to include classrooms and conference rooms, a dispatch center, a weight-training facility, bunks for overnight stays and a kitchen.
A 1,632-foot range house will include offices for the shooting range staff as well a simulator and classroom.
A mile-long driver training track and urban training village are also part of the project.
The county sold $1.66 million in bonds to fund the project.
The county used $1.3 million of the bond proceeds to purchase the 33.8-acre site, which is next to the Tulsa Police Department’s training center. Another $275,771 was spent to pay All Steel Building Co. for its work, leaving a balance of $29,549 in bond funding, according to the Tulsa County Fiscal Office.
The Tulsa County Industrial Authority issued the bonds to raise the money for the project and is leasing the property back to the county. The agreement calls for the county to pay off the bonds 10 years, at which time the county would take over ownership of the property.
The Sheriff’s Office is using its cash account to make bond payments and build the facility.
The account is funded through fees paid to the the Sheriff’s Office for finger-printing services, processing warrants and other services.
As of August, the Sheriff’s Office had spent $746,923 from that account for the project, according to county records.
Glanz was elected sheriff of Tulsa County in 1989. Last week, a Tulsa County grand jury indicted him on two misdemeanors and recommended that he be removed from office.
The grand jury investigation stemmed from an April 2 incident in which Reserve Deputy Robert Bates shot and killed an unarmed man during a undercover sting operation. Bates was charged with second-degree manslaughter and has pleaded not guilty. His trial is scheduled to begin Feb. 8.
Glanz is accused of refusing to perform his official duties when he refused to release a copy of a 2009 Sheriff’s Office internal investigation of Bates’ training history; he is also accused of willful violation of the law for allegedly accepting a car allowance while simultaneously using a county-provided vehicle.
A court hearing on the misdemeanor charges is scheduled for Nov. 10. Glanz has announced that he will retire effective Nov. 1.
