TULSA, Okla. — Could there be a systemic problem with the Tulsa Police Department’s training of officers when it comes to excessive force?
A judge ruled that a lawsuit can move forward for a jury to decide.
Body camera footage from March 2020 shows the moment TPD Officer Aaron Russell shot five times at Michael Delaney’s car.
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Delaney had ignored the officer’s commands to get out of the car and drove off. Delaney was shot in the shoulder and, eventually, pleaded guilty to obstructing an officer.
After a multi-county grand jury indictment, Officer Russell pleaded no contest to reckless handling of a firearm and was given a deferred sentence.
In 2021, Delaney sued—claiming the officer and the City of Tulsa violated his constitutional rights. It’s called Monell claim.
“It is essentially establishing liability, not just for the officer, but liability for the municipality, in this case, the City of Tulsa,” said Dan Smolen, who represents Delaney in the lawsuit.
Smolen says he has worked for over a decade to try and prove there is a systemic problem within the Tulsa Police Department when it comes to excessive force cases.
In February 2025, the judge ruled the Monell claim can go to a jury. Smolen believes it is the first time a judge has recommended a trial in a case like this against the City of Tulsa. 2 News could not independently verify that claim.
However, according to a study in the Virginia Law Review, of 1,200 police misconduct cases examined, very few Monell claims ever made it to trial---even fewer succeeded.
In this case, the judge ruled there is enough evidence to proceed to trial when it comes to the way officers are trained for extractions from vehicles, and the way officers are trained to wait for backup.
Smolen said a jury ruling in his client’s favor would be significant for numerous other cases involving the Tulsa Police Department.
“It becomes relevant to any other time a situation occurs in the City of Tulsa with a city police officer, where they are following unconstitutional training, and they are systemically causing constitutional violations,” said Smolen.
The original complaint cites a report by Human Rights Watch. The report found, of 1,700 reported TPD excessive force incidents in a five year time frame, the department only found two of them to violate their police.
Of the two that were determined to violate policy, none of the officers were disciplined.
The City of Tulsa does not comment on pending litigation. We did reach out for comment, but officials declined.
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