June 14, 2025
In 2024, the department reportedly also faced scrutiny for its use of non-lethal force on Black residents of Tulsa.
Kemonte Hampton, a Tulsa County resident who was struck by a police cruiser while officers attempted to detain him for allegedly jaywalking and obstructing an officer in April 2025, is moving forward with a jury trial against the Tulsa Police Department. Hampton appeared in court on June 12, where a Tulsa County judge ruled that his case will proceed before a jury of his peers.
According to KJRH, who requested the body and dash cam footage of the arrest of Hampton, the footage they obtained shows a patrol car rolling over Hampton as they attempt to arrest him.
According to the account given by the police, they called for backup because Hampton was attempting to flee after they tried asking him about possibly jaywalking near a nearby intersection, but since the film has been released to the public, there has been a healthy debate about the department’s policing tactics.
As the video shows, officers did not attempt to offer any immediate medical care, but proceeded to attempt to arrest Hampton, which likely prompted him to protest to the officers, “Y’all just ran me over, bro,” which can be audibly heard in the video.
Although the police say that Hampton’s injuries are minor, some have questioned why the police pulled his arms before checking to see if he was injured by the wayward police cruiser, which should have been in park when Hampton was accosted by the officers.
Others, however, were quick to point out that Hampton should not have been running. Hampton had previously indicated to the outlet that he was willing to share his side of the story, but was advised otherwise by his defense attorney.
The police, meanwhile, justified their actions by saying that they had been receiving complaints about violent crime, and the probable cause to detain Hampton could have been used to ask about other crimes. However, jaywalking, in the eyes of the general public, is largely considered a non-violent, victimless crime.
The trial, which has been set for Oct. 20, is likely to place the activities of the Tulsa Police Department under more public scrutiny, similar to how the shooting of Terence Crutcher by former officer Betty Shelby did in 2016.
As Tulsa Police Captain Richard Meulenberg told Channel 2 News, “Is jaywalking a minor infraction? Yes. But it comes on the demands of the community saying, ‘Hey, we have major crimes out here—do something.’”
That public scrutiny, according to The Black Wall Street Times, could be coming directly from the mayor’s office, per a response the outlet received from Tulsa’s Public Safety Commissioner, Laurel Roberts.
“As with any police incident, we must affirm our commitment to transparency and accountability. Immediately following the incident, an internal review was launched, and I will be engaged in the review at the direction of Mayor Nichols,” Roberts said. “Our police officers are entrusted with protecting the public, and that trust will be upheld through integrity and respect for all members of our community.”
According to Tulsa Public Radio, in 2024, the department also faced scrutiny for its use of non-lethal force on Black residents of Tulsa. Although Black residents make up 15% of Tulsa’s population, they accounted for nearly half, 48.2% to be exact, of the non-lethal force performed on Tulsa’s citizens.
Nichols, notably, is Tulsa’s first Black mayor, and according to data from Mapping Police Violence, the Tulsa Police Department has had the fourth highest rate of police killings per one million people between 2013 and 2025.
As part of his campaign promise during the 2024 mayoral election, Nichols vowed to improve both the city’s crime rate, and the trust between law enforcement and the city’s residents. This case, depending on his office’s response to its outcome, could provide an early test of how well he lives up to those promises.
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