| Saying he became Okmulgee County sheriff to make things better, Eddy Rice told Henryetta Lions club members his department is trying to maintain a, "certain level of professionalism and integrity. "We have no tolerance for people, 'spanking the public,'" he said at the Tuesday Henryetta club meeting. Rice was referring to some law enforcement officers around the country who abuse their power. | |
| "Things have changed since I started in law enforcement," he said. "We are trying to get back to a standard of integrity and a positive outlook." Rice said he has changed the training for officers and has a, "higher expectation and requires a lot," from his deputies and reserve deputies. |  |
| Talking about reserve officers, he said Okmulgee County has gone from a high of around 40 to only eight now. "We have a higher class of reserves now," he pointed out. Those reserve deputies have the same jurisdiction as regular officers as long as they are on the clock, he explained. County reserve deputies have to pass a rigid background check as well as get through over 300 hours of CLEET academy and trained in firearms. Those reserve deputies only drive county-owned, marked vehicles when they are on duty. Rice said he felt the Tulsa county reserve officer involved in a shooting earlier this year was, "not in the right place at the right time. "I'm held personally and civilly liable for everything my deputies do. We want the best out there." Rice told Lions Club members construction has just begun on the new jail annex. Located just west of the Okmulgee County court house, the annex will reduce the over population currently echoing the existing lock-up. When finished, the jail is expected to cost some $7.3 million. The new fiscal year starts in a couple of weeks and, according to Rice, he ws able to provide his current deputies with a five percent raise. He is working on a $109,000 budget for the year. The sheriff said a lot of attention is being focused on law enforcement officers nationally. "Things are going crazy and exploding across the nation. People are talking about reform for law enforcement. Those agencies need to be held accountable for the ones doing bad. The good ones you never hear about." He blamed the national media for some of that saying they television stations tend to worry more about ratings and keep bringing up a lot of problems. Race also has a lot to do with the problems, he pointed out. "If you look across what is going on in America, it is about race and that needs to go away." Rice said a recent shooting in northern Okmulgee County involving a white OHP trooper and white victim was covered but, everyone was white and it went away immediately." "We always judge when something bad happens. We don't look at the good." | |
