Muskogee County Sheriff's Office
| Muskogee County Sheriff's Office | |
|---|---|
| Abbreviation | MCSO |
| Agency overview | |
| Formed | 1907 |
| Legal personality | Governmental: Government agency |
| Jurisdictional structure | |
| Operations jurisdiction* | County (US) of Muskogee in the state of Oklahoma, USA |
 | |
| Map of Muskogee County Sheriff's Office's jurisdiction. | |
| Size | 829 square miles (2,150 km2) |
| Population | 69,451 (2008 est.) |
| General nature | |
| Operational structure | |
| Headquarters | Muskogee, Oklahoma |
| Agency executive | Charles Pearson, Sheriff |
| Footnotes | |
| * Divisional agency: Division of the country, over which the agency has usual operational jurisdiction. | |
Muskogee County Sheriff's Office is the chief law enforcement agency in Muskogee County, Oklahoma, with primary jurisdiction in the unincorporated areas of the county. Consisting of sheriff's deputies, detention staff and support personnel, the department serves a population of over 70,000 people.
The Office is headed by Sheriff Charles Pearson, a Democratic former Muskogee Police Department officer, first elected in 2000, and reelected in 2004 and 2008.
History
The Muskogee County Sheriff's Office was formed in 1907and has been serving the citizens of Muskogee County, Oklahoma ever since.
Leadership
The County Sheriff's Office is under the direction and control of the County Sheriff, who is elected County-wide to serve a four year term. To assist the Sheriff in the performance of his duties, the Sheriff appoints a Undersheriff to oversee the day-to-day operations of the entire Office and to perform the duties of the Sheriff in his absence. Additionally, the Sheriff employees a Chief Deputy Sheriff, who oversees all law enforcement activities of the Office, and a Jail Superintendent, who is responsible for the management of the County jail and detention center.
| Office | Incumbent | Since |
|---|---|---|
| County Sheriff | Charles Pearson | 2001 |
| Undersheriff | Terry Freeman | 2010 |
| Chief Deputy Sheriff | Brandon Caster | |
| Jail Superintendent | Joe Hughart | 2010 |
Incidents
Civil Forfeiture
On February 27, 2016, Muskogee County sheriff's deputies pulled over Eh Wah on U.S. Route 69 for a broken tail light. Eh Wah, a naturalized U.S. citizen who was carrying cash proceeds from a fundraiser from a Christian band, raised suspicions from the officers due to miscommunication during questioning. Deputies brought out a drug-sniffing dog that gave a positive alert, but did not find any drugs during the search that followed. The deputies instead found and seized $53,249 in cash, citing the "possession of drug proceeds"; the money however was going towards Christian liberal arts college and an orphanage in Thailand. Although Eh Wah was not immediately charged at the scene, a warrant for his arrest was issued on April 5th for acquiring "proceeds from drug activity," citing the alert from the drug-sniffing dog, "inconsistent stories," and the inability to "confirm the money was his" as probable cause. Following national coverage of the incident in the Washington Post, the charges were dropped and the district attorney stated that a check would be issued to refund the full amount confiscated. [1]
Fallen Deputies
Since the establishment of the Muskogee County Sheriff's Office, two deputies have died in the line of duty.[2]
| Deputy | Date of Death | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Deputy Sheriff James Work | |
Gunfire |
| Deputy Sheriff Henry B. Crane | |
Gunfire |
| Deputy Sheriff Homer Teaff | |
Gunfire |
| Deputy Sheriff Joseph P. Morgan | |
Gunfire |
| Deputy Sheriff Webster Reece | |
Gunfire |
| Special Deputy Sheriff Andrew McGinnis | |
Gunfire |
See also
References
- ↑ "How police took $53,000 from a Christian band, an orphanage and a church". Washington Post. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
- ↑ The Officer Down Memorial Page