Sheriff Tommie Johnson III Sues Jail Trust, County Commissioners

OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma County Sheriff Tommie Johnson III filed a lawsuit against the jail trust and the board of Oklahoma County Commissioners on Friday as part of his ongoing efforts to free his office of the responsibility of transporting jail inmates to and from the Oklahoma County Courthouse.
Johnson contends that the sheriff’s office has a contract to transport inmates which was entered into on a voluntary basis and which can be terminated by either party at any time – and he has already taken the proper steps to end the contract.
Johnson has repeatedly stated that providing transport for inmates takes away resources the sheriff’s office needs in order to execute its duties as stipulated by law, such as providing security at the Oklahoma County Courthouse.
Former Oklahoma County Commissioner Miles Davidson had claimed that the Oklahoma County Criminal Justice Authority (OCCJA) – the formal name for the jail trust – could handle inmate transport for less than the roughly $800,000 per year provided to the sheriff’s office under the contract.
Jail Trust board member Derrick Scobey told reporters that the sheriff’s contract barely covers the actual cost of the services provided.
“We as a body, we have continued to say that we can get it done cheaper than $800,000 a year,” Scobey told News 4. “You just get tired of someone continuing to call you into question about something that you are doing in the most legitimate way. So sometimes it’s like, well, if you can do it better, then go ahead, and you do it better.”
The Oklahoma County jail had been run by the Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office until May 2019, when the jail trust was formed (before Johnson took office). The jail had been plagued by years of operational and health and safety issues, so county officials created an entity with the sole responsibility of managing the jail.
However, when the trust was formed, the issue of transporting detainees was excluded from the list of duties the trust would take over. Instead, the trust formed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the sheriff’s office, paying the sheriff to continue to provide inmate transport to and from the courthouse. Oklahoma County provides the funding for the jail trust to pay its contract with the sheriff for inmate transportation to and from the courthouse. Jail employees provide transportation for inmates sent to the hospital.
In May, Johnson notified the jail trust that his office intended to terminate the contract and turn over all inmate transport duties to the jail trust as of July 1. However, Oklahoma County District Attorney Vicki Behenna asserted that the sheriff’s office has a legal obligation to provide transport for inmates, and sent a letter to the jail trust claiming that the jail is too short-staffed to take on inmate transport. Behenna also requested an opinion from state Attorney General Gentner Drummond stating that Johnson is legally obligated to keep providing transportation for inmates. Johnson and Behenna engaged in a heated exchange at a recent county meeting over the issue.
On May 11, Oklahoma County District Court Judge Heather Coyle ordered the Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office to continue the transportation of detainees to and from the jail.
Johnson’s lawsuit, filed June 12, asserts that the MOU allows “any party” to terminate the MOU “when it is determined to be in the party’s best interest,” effective 30 days “from the receipt of the written notice of termination.”
Johnson sent notice terminating the MOU on April 8, and offered to have sheriff’s staff train jail staff in order to ensure a smooth transition. But jail staff did not show up for the training.
“Upon information and belief, jail management was instructed not to engage in the transportation of the inmates by the District Attorney’s office,” reads Johnson’s lawsuit.
Oklahoma law gives the sheriff statutory responsibility for the jail and its prisoners – unless a jail trust is formed to assume those responsibilities, Johnson’s lawsuit notes. Then it becomes the trust’s responsibility to operate the jail and to accomplish all duties required to operate the jail, including inmate transport.
In the lawsuit, the sheriff requests the court declare the MOU terminated as of May 10, and issue “a writ mandating the OCCJA to comply with its statutory duties to transport inmates to and from the Oklahoma County Courthouse and the Oklahoma County Jail.
The lawsuit states the sheriff’s right to retain outside legal counsel and to pay for such legal services with money from the sheriff’s office budget.
County Commissioner Brian Maughan said he learned about the lawsuit through the media and had not been personally served.
“This will cost the taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars as each party will now have to hire outside legal counsel,” Maughn said in a statement. “That is especially disappointing to me since the Oklahoma County District Attorney, the Oklahoma Attorney General, and the Oklahoma County Presiding Judge have all ruled that under the jail trust indenture transportation of the inmates is a duty of the sheriff.”