May 12, 2015
The resignation of Major Tom Huckeby is a welcome and necessary step. Both Major Huckeby and former Undersheriff Albin were key components in the broken TCSO system. However, it was Sheriff Glanz who gave Huckeby and Albin such prominent leadership roles. Ultimately, it is Sheriff Glanz who must take responsibility for the corruption and incompetence that have taken center stage at TCSO. If the public’s trust in the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office is ever to be restored, Sheriff Glanz must resign.
Even since the shooting death of Eric Harris, and resignation of Tim Albin, Sheriff Glanz has shown poor judgment in elevating Terry Simonson to the position of TCSO Spokesperson. This decision shows, yet again, that the Sheriff is completely out of touch. In a 2010 article printed in Urban Tulsa Weekly, Mr. Simonson stated:
“It’s hard for the community to be concerned about the number of homicides when it’s gang members killing gang members. When you think about it, who’s really complaining about that? Those deaths are certainly a loss to the families of the fallen gang member, but is it actually a loss to the community? It sounds like good public safety work being done for the police by the gangs.”
Thus, a man who apparently believes that murder is “good public safety work” is now Spokesman for TCSO. In the wake of the Eric Harris shooting, as well as the rash of high profile excessive use of force incidents across the country, the appointment of Terry Simonson as TCSO Spokesperson sends all the wrong signals at exactly the wrong time. It evinces a fundamental lack of empathy. The appointment of Terry Simonson as TCSO Spokesperson is more proof that Stanley Glanz’s leadership and decision-making skills are sorely lacking.
