BROKEN ARROW, Okla. — 2 News Oklahoma gets emails and calls every week from women, either struggling to get a protective order, or struggling to get a protective order enforced by authorities. Is the system flawed?
We are taking a look at the issue and begin with the story of Christina Wyatt.
Her estranged husband, Kevin Drake, pleaded no contest last month to kidnapping, child abuse and domestic assault and battery. The court allowed him to remain free while he appeals the case.
Wyatt claims for two years, until these charges were brought against him, Drake harassed her.
2 News Oklahoma Anchor Erin Christy sat down with Wyatt who claims repeated protective order violations were ignored and that law enforcement failed to protect her from Drake. It bears warning the video attached includes disturbing videos.
“I feel like the last two and a half years, I’ve been surviving without any help,” said Wyatt.
It was an event in August of 2020 when Wyatt claims Drake assaulted her in front of her children. She filed a report with the Wagoner County Sheriff’s Office. She filed for divorce and for a protective order.
Her case was turned over to Muscogee (Creek) Nation due to what’s often simply referred to as “McGirt”—a Supreme Court ruling that gives major crime jurisdiction involving certain tribal members to the tribal courts, rather than the state. Both Drake and Wyatt are tribal members.
According to Emergency Protective Order documents, defendants are not to contact the victim, nor are they to harass or stalk them.
Wyatt claims, in the beginning, Drake followed her every day in is car. She says it was happening so often she put cameras on the car to document the events to law enforcement. However, during calls she recorded with Muscogee Lighthorse Police, more than one officer is heard telling her Drake driving next to her could be a coincidence. She was also told nothing could be done on a public roadway.
However, in a separate instance on her property on a dead end road, she was again told she couldn’t file a report because her daughter, who has Down Syndrome, initiated contact with him.
“They were blaming a special needs children [because] they said she waved at him,” Wyatt said.
Wyatt says she received a message from a woman on Facebook who claimed to be an ex-girlfriend of Drake’s after Wyatt. That woman has a protective order filed against him as well. Wyatt believes it anyone would have listened to her, at least one woman would feel safer.
2News spoke with the second woman through text messaging. The day after she filed the PO, Drake went to court to file a PO against her and Wyatt.
The women believe it is an attempt to further complicate matters and turn it into a he-said/she-said situation.
Of the numerous times Wyatt called police, Drake got two protective order violation charges filed against him in a more than two-year time frame. One was dismissed this year as part of a plea agreement to face the domestic violence charges. Another is from 2020 and still pending in court.
Wyatt wants all of her complaints filed. If found guilty of more than three occasions, it could result in a felony charge and could increase a possible punishment.
2News reached out to Muscogee Lighthorse Police. The department declined an interview, but Corporal Brent Colbert issued the following statement:
Navigating the intense personal relationships between parties to a protective order can often be challenging for law enforcement. That’s one reason that Lighthorse Police officers receive significant domestic violence training every year beyond what is mandated.
Lighthorse policies regarding Protective Orders require officers to respond immediately on scene to any disturbance, threats to personal safety or active violations of the specific prohibitions contained in the court’s order. In cases where a past violation is being alleged, or the alleged action is not specifically prohibited in the court’s order, it is our policy to take down a written report and forward that record to the Office of Attorney General to be evaluated for further action.
In the case of Christina Drake and Kevin Drake where both parties have protective orders against each other, we have received 12 contacts into dispatch from Ms. Drake and have taken 10 formal reports since 2020.
Our top priority is the safety of all persons within our jurisdiction. We continually evaluate the effectiveness of our polices and personnel. We’ll be reviewing the details of this case to see what can be learned and as always will act as appropriate.
A spokesperson for Muscogee (Creek) Nation could only provide two reports referenced in the statement, citing some records being damaged due to an office flood in 2022.
Wyatt says she has struggled to get information on whether any of her other protective order violations have been filed. She says she is often given the run-around and that she has had to refile several times due to the lost files.
During our investigation, 2 News Oklahoma found acquiring basic information cumbersome. Documents were not online and a request to get them or any information, from start to finish, took a month. 2 News Oklahoma reached out to Drake’s attorney who told us he will not comment due to pending litigation.
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