A Tulsa police officer has been accused of taking money from Hispanic drivers, Tulsa Police Chief Chuck Jordan announced on Saturday.
Marvin Blades Jr., 37, was arrested and booked into Tulsa Jail early Saturday morning on a complaint of second-degree robbery, Jordan said at a press conference.
Jordan said Blades was arrested as part of an undercover operation that featured an Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs officer.
The chief said Blades is suspected of pulling over Hispanics and removing money from their wallets. He did not estimate how many times Blades may have allegedly engaged in such behavior.
Jordan said there is no indication that any other officers took part in such behavior. In fact, he said other officers played a vital role in providing information in the investigation.
He said the officers who helped in the probe "did the right thing."
"Corruption is not part of our organizational culture," Jordan said.
Jordan said Blades is on suspension with pay. He said the matter will be forwarded to Tulsa County District Attorney Tim Harris' office for possible charges.
He said Blades has been with the department on an on-and-off basis since 1997. Blades' arrest report says he was most recently assigned to the Gilcrease Division.
Jordan said the first report of Blades' alleged conduct was received in November. However, he said that the sporadic timing and the nature of the late-night stops made the investigation challenging.
Blades' arrest report says "the investigation was ongoing for several months."
Jordan declined to discuss the specifics of how the late Friday night encounter between Blades and the undercover state narcotics officer was accomplished.
An arrest report says that at about 11 p.m. Friday Blades was driving his patrol car, was in uniform, wearing his badge and carrying a Glock .40-caliber pistol when he pulled over the undercover officer in the 2800 block of North Lewis Avenue.
Blades told the man to get out of his car, step to the back of the vehicle and leave his wallet inside, according to the document.
The arrest report says Blades went to the cab of the vehicle, returned to where the man was standing and told the man he could leave. According to the document, the man checked his wallet after Blades left and discovered that six documented $100 bills were missing from it.
At about 2:20 a.m. Saturday, Blades was arrested at 500 E. Pine St., according to the report.
Officers found several $100 bills in Blades' pocket, the document says.
Though Blades allegedly claimed the money belonged to his wife, police matched the serial numbers on the bills to those on the money the undercover officer had in his wallet prior to the traffic stop, according to the report.
Blades, who listed a Mounds home address, was booked into Tulsa Jail at 4:40 a.m., bonded out at 6:25 a.m. and is due in Tulsa County District Court on Sept. 4, according to the jail's website.
The arrest report says the "incident matched the M.O. of other incidents reported during the investigation."
Jordan said the situation makes him "disappointed and disturbed," yet he said he was proud of the officers who provided valuable information during the probe. He said they demonstrated there is no "thin blue line" of silence at TPD.
Jordan said he vowed 18 months ago to target any criminal or unethical behavior within TPD and that this is an example of that effort.
"We will clean our own house and won't be satisfied until it's spotless," Jordan said.
The department is still dealing with the stigma of a federal corruption probe that cast an unwanted spotlight on TPD.
That investigation of Tulsa police officers and a federal agent began as early as 2008 and resulted in charges against six current or former Tulsa police officers and a federal agent, as well as accusations of criminal behavior against five unindicted officers.
At least 46 people have been freed from prison or had their cases modified because of civil rights violations or potential problems with their cases.
Additionally, at least 14 lawsuits have been filed against the city of Tulsa and individual police officers as a result of the police corruption investigation.
Copyright 2012 - Tulsa World, Okla.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
