Muskogee Police Department is the primary

law enforcement agency A law enforcement agency (LEA) is any government agency responsible for law enforcement within a specific jurisdiction through the employment and deployment of law enforcement officers and their resources. The most common type of law enforcement ...

Muskogee, Oklahoma Muskogee () is the 13th-largest city in Oklahoma and is the county seat of Muskogee County, Oklahoma, Muskogee County. Home to Bacone College, it lies approximately southeast of Tulsa, Oklahoma, Tulsa. The population of the city was 36,878 as of ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Consisting of 91 sworn officers and 28 other employees, the department serves a population of over 40,000 people.

History

The Muskogee Police Department was established in 1898. Prior to its establishment, law enforcement in Muskogee was provided by the

United States Marshals Service The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The Marshals Service serves as the enforcement and security arm of the United States federal judi ...

and a city marshal. One early officer was Federal Deputy Marshal

Bass Reeves Bass Reeves (July 1838 – January 12, 1910) was a deputy U.S. Marshal, gunfighter, farmer, scout, tracker, railroad agent, and a runaway slave. He spoke the languages of several Native American tribes including Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Sem ...

, the first

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

to serve in such an office. Since 1995, crime rate has reduced 45% in Muskogee. According to records by the

Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) is an independent state law enforcement agency of the government of Oklahoma. The OSBI assists the county sheriff offices and city police departments of the state, and works independent of the Ok ...

, in 2002, 2008 and 2009, no murders were committed for the entire year. The department was under the supervision and operational command of

Chief of Police A chief of police (COP) is the title given to an appointed official or an elected one in the command hierarchy, chain of command of a police department, particularly in North America. A chief of police may also be known as a police chief or somet ...

Rex Eskridge, a member of the department since 1969 and police chief since 1992. Chief of Police Rex Eskridge retired in July 2018 after 49 years of service. Deputy Chief Johnny Teehee was sworn in as Chief of Police on July 17, 2018.

Controversies

2009 arrest of Larry Eugene Chaplin

In 2009, two local officers arrested Larry Eugene Chaplin. They handcuffed him and then allowed a police dog to attack him while he was on the ground. In March 2012, the city settled with Chaplin for an undisclosed amount.

2016 traffic stop

Muskogee Police made the news after they pursued an alleged

traffic stop A traffic stop, colloquially referred to as being pulled over, is a temporary Detention (imprisonment), detention of a driver of a vehicle and its occupants by police to Criminal investigation, investigate a possible crime or minor violation o ...

on August 7, 2016, from a man running a stop sign and continuing to his mother's home after refusing to stop led to police forcing their way into the home where the situation ended with the 84-year-old mother being

pepper spray Pepper spray, oleoresin capsicum spray, OC spray, capsaicin spray, mace, or capsicum spray is a Tear gas, lachrymator (tear gas) product containing as its active ingredient the chemical compound capsaicin, which irritates the eyes with burning ...

ed as well as the 54-year-old man police were pursuing being

taser Taser (stylized in all caps) is a line of handheld conducted energy devices (CED) sold by Axon Enterprise (formerly Taser International). The device fires two small barbed darts intended to puncture the skin and remain attached to the targe ...

ed. The matter became under investigation after pressure arose online following the release of body camera video. Much of the public believed the police utilized unnecessary force, especially in spraying the woman, who many believed did not seem threatening or uncooperative.

References

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External links

Muskogee Police Department website

Police Department The police are a constituted body of people empowered by a state with the aim of enforcing the law and protecting the public order as well as the public itself. This commonly includes ensuring the safety, health, and possessions of citize ...