Judge hears Tulsa sheriff's attempt to stop grand jury

TULSA — Attorneys for embattled Tulsa County Sheriff Stanley Glanz told a judge Tuesday that signatures on a petition seeking a grand jury investigation into the sheriff's office are invalid.

John Carwile, an attorney for Glanz, argued the petition signed by 6,647 voters should be disqualified because circulators didn't attach a 33-page summary of specific allegations against the sheriff to the signature pages. The signature pages, he said, contained only a brief summary of allegations that were misleading and too general.

"There are no specific, single allegations of wrongdoing on the signature pages," Carwile said.

But Marq Lewis, an organizer for We The People Oklahoma, the civil rights group that gathered the signatures, testified that attaching a 33-page petition to each signature sheet would be cost-prohibitive because his group makes little money and operates mainly with volunteer support. Lewis' attorney estimated it would cost around $3,300 to generate some 16,800 copies.

"It's almost the cost of a car," Lewis testified before District Judge Rebecca Nightingale.

The grand jury petition calls for an investigation into whether Glanz neglected his duties and whether reservists who gave gifts to the sheriff were given special treatment. The petition drive began after ex-volunteer deputy Robert Bates, 73, shot an unarmed and restrained man on April 2. Bates said he confused his handgun and stun gun and has pleaded not guilty to second-degree manslaughter in Eric Harris' death.

The hearing on the petition drive continues later Tuesday.

Weeks after Bates shot Harris, a 2009 memo leaked that raised concerns about the training for Bates, a friend of Glanz who has donated tens of thousands of dollars in equipment, vehicles and cash to the sheriff's office.

Already, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation is looking into the shooting and a Texas-based firm has been hired by the county to audit the agency.

The reserve deputy program has also been temporarily shelved while the training records of all 126 reserves are reviewed.

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