Sheriff Stanley Glanz on Monday said he has not decided whether he will leave office before his term expires next year but that he’s had enough of the controversy surrounding his office.
“I really don’t know what I am going to do,” Glanz told The Frontier. “It would be based on what is best for the Sheriff’s Office, not me.”
Glanz added that he was “tired of all the bullshit” his office has had to endure the last five months since a fatal shooting by one of his reserve deputies.
“That would be a reason to leave” early, he said. Glanz spoke to a reporter for The Frontier at the Tulsa County Administration Building after attending the county commissioners meeting.
The sheriff has previously said he does not plan to run for re-election but has not indicated plans to resign before his term ends. A primary election is scheduled for June, with a general election Nov. 8, 2016.
At least four people are reportedly considering a run for sheriff.
At the same time Glanz was attending the commission meeting, his longtime attorney, Clark Brewster, appeared for a closed hearing in District Judge Rebecca Nightengale’s court. Brewster was accompanied by a criminal defense attorney, Paul DeMuro, and refused to say whether he had been subpoenaed to testify before the grand jury.
He left after a hearing that lasted less than an hour Monday morning. Paper covered the windows in the door to Nightengale’s courtroom.
The hearing was apparently over a sealed motion filed last week by prosecutors leading the grand jury. DeMuro filed a response to the motion, also under seal, and indicated he was representing Brewster’s law firm.
The grand jury briefly met in open session Monday to deal with administrative issues. During the hearing, Nightengale removed a juror who had left the state due to a family emergency and replaced her with an alternate juror.
The grand jury is investigating a variety of allegations involving Glanz that could lead to his removal from office. Most revolve around the April 2 shooting of Eric Harris by reserve deputy Robert Bates.
Harris, 44, was shot and killed by Bates while TCSO deputies were conducting an undercover sting. Harris fled from arrest, but was quickly tackled by other deputies and was unarmed.
Bates, 74, a wealthy donor to the sheriff’s office and personal friend of Glanz, said he intended to stun Harris with a Taser, but accidentally drew his handgun.
The grand jury has met in secret for eight weeks and has heard testimony from about 19 witnesses so far, most current or former employees of the Sheriff’s Office. They are considering whether to remove Glanz from office for a list of alleged offenses including habitual neglect of duty as well as oppression, corruption and gross partiality in office.
It is unclear what would happen to the grand jury’s investigation should Glanz resign because the petition seeks his removal from office. A separate OSBI investigation into alleged corruption within Glanz’s office is also underway.
Laurie Phillips, the attorney who filed the grand jury petition on behalf of a citizens group, said she is researching case law that may be relevant if Glanz resigns. She said there appear to be few cases that address the issue.
“There haven’t been very many grand juries like this,” Phillips said.
The grand jury has the power to extend its investigation beyond whether Glanz should be removed and can issue an indictment if enough evidence exists.
Phillips said based on who has testified so far before the grand jury so far, “it’s pretty obvious they are going beyond (Glanz’s) removal because of the people they are bringing in.”
Weeks after Harris was shot, The Frontier obtained a 2009 internal memo showing Sheriff’s officials had expressed numerous concerns regarding Bates’ lack of training over the years. Supervisors alleged that Bates, who later would serve as Glanz’s re-election campaign chairman, was allowed to act as an “advanced reserve” despite not completing the necessary training.
An internal review by the Sheriff’s Office recently found that 50 of the more than 100 reserve deputies who volunteer for the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office had deficient training records.
Glanz’s office has refused to release the report, saying it considers the document a law enforcement record.
Witnesses who have testified before the grand jury have included former officials who were fired or pressured to resign from Glanz’s office during the fallout from the Bates shooting.
They have included former Capt. Bill McKelvey, former Maj. Tom Huckeby and former Maj. Shannon Clark, who acted as the agency’s public information officer.
So far, key figures in the case who have not testified include Glanz, former Undersheriff Tim Albin and Terry Simonson, a political advisor to the sheriff.
Bates, who faces a second-degree manslaughter charge, has also not appeared before the grand jury. He has pleaded not guilty in Harris’ shooting.
