JAY, Okla. -- Belts have been a little tighter in recent years in Oklahoma's Delaware County, a largely blue-collar home to machinists, poultry farmers and truckers. In 2012, residents approved a higher sales tax to foot a $13.5 million settlement between the county and more than a dozen female inmates who alleged sexual assault at the hands of their jailers.
It's just half a cent per dollar on staples such as milk and bread, but when the average per capita income in the county is around $20,000 a year, those pennies quickly add up. And the settlement likely won't be paid off until 2023.
"I can't find one person who says, 'I'd like to pay for it,'" said resident Angylia Morgan, a 42-year-old laborer who makes $15 an hour pouring concrete. "I work really hard for that money. I want to keep it."
Carroll Haggard, a 72-year-old Wal-Mart retiree, said residents are taxed enough as it is.
"Of course it bothers all of us," Haggard said. "It just shakes my mind. It never goes away."
Residents blame ineffective law enforcement -- Delaware County Sheriff Jay Blackfox resigned shortly after the scandal, citing personal reasons and denying any wrongdoing -- but their situation is by no means unique. Five Oklahoma sheriffs have found themselves at odds with the law this year, and at least eight more sheriffs or deputies in the past decade, raising the specter of more hefty settlements resulting in financial grief for taxpayers.
Corrupt Oklahoma lawmen have been around since the days of the Wild West and "it's still happening; we haven't solved anything yet," said Bryce Harp, who grew up in the area and has practiced law in the county since 2009. "The citizens are still being victimized."
In Tulsa, taxpayers have already shelled out hundreds of thousands of dollars so the county can fight civil and federal lawsuits against deposed Sheriff Stanley Glanz. He pleaded guilty this year to withholding public records after a grand jury investigation into wrongdoing by his office. Those documents questioned the field-readiness of volunteer deputy Robert Bates, Glanz's fishing pal, who fatally shot unarmed black man Eric Harris in 2015.
Bates is in prison for second-degree manslaughter, and the Harris family is suing Glanz in federal court. At least 22 other lawsuits are pending.
"The lesson learned is that good policy and procedure is only good when followed," said Tulsa County Commissioner Karen Keith.
Cases arising from the missteps of other Oklahoma sheriffs also have the potential to threaten taxpayers' budgets.
In June, Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation agents arrested Carter County Sheriff Milton Anthony, accusing him of soliciting sexual favors from an employee in exchange for hiring her husband. Anthony pleaded guilty Nov. 7 to felony bribery and was sentenced to probation and is forbidden from working in Oklahoma law enforcement. His attorney didn't return a call seeking comment.
Love County Sheriff Marion "Joe" Russell was charged in July, accused of allowing his drug-dealing son to keep methamphetamine at his home. Russell resigned but still faces charges, including harboring a fugitive. A call seeking comment from his attorney was not returned. Russell is due in court next month.
One longtime Love County resident said authorities appear indifferent to criminal activity.
"The county is in trouble, you know. It's a laid-back bunch of people and they ain't want to do anything," said Wanda Smith, a 72-year-old electrical company retiree who lives in Marietta. "We the people can sit back and see some of the drug people is going in and they never get arrested, so what does that tell you?"
June saw the resignation of Kiowa County Sheriff Bill Lancaster after an investigation found that he had used his patrol cruiser for a personal out-of-state trip. And in March, former Wagoner County Sheriff Robert Steven Colbert and a sheriff's captain were indicted by a grand jury on felony counts of bribery and extortion, accused of taking $10,000 from two motorists in exchange for not pursuing drug charges against them. Colbert has denied any wrongdoing and is due in court next February.
State law enforcement agencies say they're doing what they can to prevent another Delaware County situation. At the Oklahoma Sheriffs' Association, 16 of the 80 training hours required of all incoming sheriffs are spent covering ethics.
"It's always troubling, even if it's just one sheriff," said Ray McNair, executive director of the association.
Delaware County Commissioner Doug Smith said he found out a week after he took the job that the county was being sued over the allegations of sexual assault at the jail. When attorneys came looking for the policy manuals governing jail operations, the sheriff's staff directed them to a dust-caked box in the basement.
"When the lawyer reached in, a spider bit him," Smith said, adding that the county had no formal set of rules on how to run its jail.
Even with a new handbook, Smith said it's impossible to prepare for the unknown.
"Careful who you elect," he warned. "Look at their histories, look at the backgrounds. You better be sure they're vetted."
A Section on 11/26/2016