LOCAL
Kimberly Marsh, The Oklahoma Eagle
Mayor Nichols responded to Gov. Stitt Thursday morning. Photo: Tim Landes/The Oklahoma Eagle
Mayor Monroe Nichols on Thursday said Gov. Kevin Stitt’s recent court filing to block Tulsa’s agreement with the Muscogee (Creek) Nation tribal courts is “riddled with lies.”
As part of the tribe’s agreement with Tulsa, city police transfer traffic violations and other municipal misdemeanors involving tribal citizens to the Muscogee (Creek) Nation court. The settlement was signed in June to resolve a lawsuit the nation filed over the City of Tulsa’s prosecution of tribal citizens on reservation land.
Stitt claimed the agreement bars Tulsa police from enforcing municipal and state laws against tribal citizens within city limits. He filed a petition Wednesday asking the Oklahoma Supreme Court to compel Tulsa to enforce all laws, calling it a “public safety crisis intervention.”
“This goes beyond crimes covered under the McGirt decision, including but are not limited to, DUI, reckless driving, child endangerment, and domestic assault,” Stitt said in a statement, referring to the 2020 U.S. Supreme Court decision that determined much of eastern Oklahoma is reservation land and therefore subject to tribal jurisdiction.
“No mayor has the authority to pick and choose which Oklahomans are subject to the laws of our state,” Stitt said, adding that the agreement essentially created a sanctuary city “with two systems for justice.”
Nichols rejected the claims, saying enforcement applies equally to all, regardless of citizenship or origin.
“We’ve got to work with a bunch of different perspectives, and we’ve got to do it together,” Nichols said. “We’re doing it with everybody who’s a true partner in this community. And it’s unfortunate that we don’t have a governor of the state who chooses to be a partner.”
The mayor pointed out that crime at midyear was down when compared to last year’s report.
Nichols further criticized the governor for pulling Oklahoma Highway Patrol resources out of Tulsa, weakening state enforcement. In July, OHP said it would shift the responsibility inside city limits to local police departments.
“If anyone isn’t enforcing the law, it’s the governor, not Tulsa,” Nichols said.
