ROGERS COUNTY, Okla. — The Inola police chief is under scrutiny because of dispatch calls some say show a lack of decorum.
The Northeast Oklahoma Enhanced 911 Trust Authority met Wednesday night to discuss their concerns.
As part of the discussion, the chairman of the Northeast Oklahoma Enhance 911 Trust Authority played audio recordings in which you can hear Inola Police Chief Brad Craig yelling and cussing at dispatchers along with other recordings similar to these two.
Recording one...
Chief Craig: “Yeah?”
Dispatcher: “Are you code four?”
Chief Craig: “Yeah I am fine. Leave me alone. I’m busy right now.”
Dispatcher: “Okay well it’s our job to 90 check you.”
Recording two...
Chief Craig: “Don’t 10-90 me, if they haven’t already told you. Okay?”
Dispatcher: “Okay well as our policy states, I have to 90 check you.”
Chief Craig: “I know what the policy says. Put me on a 3 hour and 19 minute timer.”
We received those examples of dispatch calls from Roger’s County Sheriff Scott Walton who is concerned about Craig's behavior.
“The people of Inola pay for and should be able to expect better performance from their police chief than what they’re getting right here and we look at this as just one of problem that we dealt with, with his behavior over the time I have been here in the sheriff’s office,” Sheriff Walton said.
In the dispatch call example above, the dispatcher is trying to conduct a 10-90 check on Chief Craig who has responded to a 911 call.
The dispatcher is trying to make sure he is okay and that he doesn’t need assistance.
When an officer fails to respond to a radio or phone call on a 10-90 check another law enforcement officer is sent with lights and sirens which can be dangerous for the officer and the public.
“We are coming a long way at a high rate of speed to see if he’s okay," Sheriff Walton said. "One of his comments made on the recordings is ‘if you think I’m not okay send somebody.’ We don’t always have someone to send and how many times this has happened is too many."
In the 911 trust meeting Wednesday night, they also mentioned this isn’t the first time they have discussed Craig's lack of decorum.
The board decided to write a letter to the City of Inola asking that action be taken to insist Craig change his behavior.
We spoke with the Inola police chief ahead of the meeting Wednesday about the recordings and allegations of his behavior.
He says he doesn't have any comment except to say there needs to be a discussion between departments in the county.
We will continue to follow this story and update you if anything changes or if the 911 trust authority has to take further action.
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