OKC Police Chief Gourley talks about new helicopter and mental health response

THE TIME IS NOW 911. JUST ABOUT 912 HERE. SO KEEP YOU INFORMED, THE OKLAHOMA CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT AND THEY ARE WORKING TO KEEP YOU ALL SAFE. THIS IS ONE OF THE OBJECTIVES OF OUR MONTHLY SHOTS WITH CHIEF OF POLICE WADE GURLEY TODAY. ONCE AGAIN, WE HAVE THE CHEF WITH HERE. CHIEF GURLEY, WELCOME. THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR. ALWAYS GOOD TO SEE YOU. I WANT TO START FIRST WITH SOME NEWS COMING OUT OF THE MOST RECENT CITY COUNCIL MEETING. THE NEW HELICOPTER JUST APPROVED BY THE OKLAHOMA CITY COUNCIL IS EXPECTED TO COST ABOUT $3.7 MILLION FROM A TAX FUND. I guess my first question for you is why, do you feel like this is necessary for you to do all the things you do? ABOUT A YEAR AGO WE STARTED WORKING WITH THE DEPARTMENT AND EXPANDING OUR MISSIONS AND ASSISTING THEM WITH DROPS ON FIRES THAT OCCUR IN MORE RURAL AREAS. WE HAVE SEEN MANY MORE OF THESE. THESE TYPES OF FIRES OCCURRING AND ESPECIALLY THOSE WILD FIRES THAT START QUICKLY CAN GET ON THESE AND GET WATER ON THEM MANY TIMES, STOP THEM FROM SPREADING. SO WE HAVE WORKED WITH THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, TRAINED OUR PILOTS, THEN DONE WITH THESE EXPANDING MISSIONS, KEEPING THE PLANES IN THE AIR, IT WILL BE A LITTLE MORE DIFFICULT BECAUSE OF MAINTENANCE AND OTHER THINGS LIKE THAT. SO WE WANT TO ENSURE THAT WE HAVE ENOUGH PLANES AND ENOUGH PILOTS TO BE ABLE TO RESPOND NOT ONLY TO FIRE MISSIONS, BUT ALSO TO POLICE MISSIONS. SO THIS IS THE IDEA BEHIND THE THIRD PLANE. GOOD. SO THIS WILL BE THAT WAS MY NEXT QUESTION. THIS WILL BE THE THIRD ADDITION TO THE FLEET. IT’S GOOD. AND THEN LOOKING AT THE LINE HERE, IN TERMS OF OTHER MAYBE BIG THINGS YOU NEED OR ANY TECHNOLOGY THINGS YOU’RE LOOKING FOR AND MAY NEED HERE. PROBABLY THE BIGGEST THING WE’RE CONSIDERING RIGHT NOW IS GETTING UP OUR REAL-TIME CRIME CENTER AND RUNNING IT. AND WE WILL PROBABLY HAVE THIS IN THE NEXT MONTHS. WE START VERY BASIC WITH THIS. BUT THERE IS SOME, YOU KNOW, FUNDING AND THINGS THAT WILL COME AS WE INCREASE THIS. WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT CAMERAS PLACED IN THE CITY TO HELP IDENTIFY CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR AND RESPOND TO CALLS. AND SO WE WILL LOOK AT THIS AND EVERYTHING WE LOOK AT WITH TECHNOLOGY, HOW WE ARE RESPONDING, TO THE INCREASING DEMANDS ON THE POLICE DEPARTMENT AND TRYING TO DO MORE WITH LESS. AND SO IF WE CAN, YOU KNOW, GET AN ANALYST TO VERIFY A SITUATION BEFORE AN OFFICER DEPLOYS, THAT HELPS US, YOU KNOW, TO USE OUR RESOURCES A LITTLE BETTER. I WANT TO PASS NOW TO THE INVESTIGATION OF THE MINISTRY OF JUSTICE. I KNOW YOU CAN’T SPECIFICALLY ABOUT CURRENT INVESTIGATIONS, BUT THIS INVESTIGATION ADDRESSES THE OKLAHOMA CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT AND OTHER RESPONSES TO PEOPLE IN MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS. SO I JUST WANT TO ASK YOU TO GIVE YOURSELF A CHANCE HERE TO TALK A BIT ABOUT THE CURRENT PROCEDURES IN PLACE IN THE DEPARTMENT. WHAT WE DO WHEN SOMEONE HAS A MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS AND HOW YOUR OFFICERS RESPOND. SO WE ARE WORKING FOR MORE THAN THREE YEARS TO TRY TO DO EVERYTHING WE CAN GET ABOUT BEING THE PRIMARY RESPONSE TO MENTAL HEALTH. IT HAS STARTED FOR US. I WAS AT THE MAJOR CITY CHIEFS MEETING WHEN I WAS DEPUTY CHIEF AND THEY MADE A PRESENTATION THERE ABOUT A PARTNERSHIP THAT THE AGENCY IS DOING WITH SOCIAL WORKERS IN THE. AND SO IMMEDIATELY AND ABOUT THE TIME IT WAS ABOUT THE TIME I BECAME CHIEF WHEN I COME BACK FROM THIS GREAT CITY MEETING AND MEET THE DIRECTOR OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES AND THEIR STAFF AND WE HAVE STARTED A PROGRAM FOR NOT JUST OUR OFFICERS, IF THEY ARE IN A SITUATION WHERE SOMEONE MAY NEED ADDITIONAL SERVICES OR ASSISTANCE, THAT THE OFFICERS WILL COMPLETE IT AND CREATE A REFERRAL. AND THEN WE HAD MONTHLY MEETINGS TO HELP DEVELOP THIS AND MAKE SURE THESE PEOPLE HAVE THE NEEDS THAT THEIR NEEDS WERE MET BECAUSE THEY WERE NOT NEEDS OF THE POLICE. WE ALSO HAVE PARTNERSHIP WITH NORTH KOREA AND. WE HAVE WORKED WITH THEM ON A PROGRAM CALLED CHAMPION WHERE THEY HIRE MENTAL WORKERS TO RESPOND AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO THE POLICE AND THEN ALSO 988 DEPLOYING THAT. WE MEET WITH THE MENTAL HEALTH DEPARTMENT MONTHLY. WE TALK ABOUT WAYS WE CAN IMPROVE THIS AND OUR DISTRIBUTORS ARE NOW ABLE TO REFER MANY SINGLE CALLS WE RECEIVE THAT ARE SPECIFICALLY FOR MENTAL HEALTH WHICH DO NOT REQUIRE A POLICE RESPONSE. AND THEN, OF COURSE, PEOPLE CAN CALL NINE, EIGHT, EIGHT TOO. SO THERE’S A LOT OF THINGS I’M POSITIVE THAT HAVE BEEN LATE. AND MY HOPE IS THAT WHEN THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE WANTS TO COME IN AND LOOK AT THIS, THAT THEY SEE THAT THIS IS WHAT HAPPENED AND NOT US BASED ON THINGS THAT WAS THREE, FOUR OR FIVE YEARS AGO . YOU MENTIONED NINE, EIGHT. WELL I HAVE YOU HERE. WHY DON’T YOU TELL OUR VIEWERS JUST IN CASE YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT EXACTLY IT IS. WHAT IS NINE, EIGHT, EIGHT. SO NINE, EIGHT, EIGHT IS A NATIONAL NUMBER THAT WAS ACTUALLY ROLLED ACROSS THE COUNTRY AT A CERTAIN TIME. IT’S A LITTLE NEWER, OKLAHOMA. BUT IF YOU HAVE SOMEONE FOR EXAMPLE IN YOUR HOUSE WHO IS HAVING A MENTAL BREAK OR BREAKDOWN ON OR MAYBE THEY ARE OFF OF MEDICATION AND THEY JUST NEED TO TALK TO A DOCTOR OR TRY D ‘GETTING MORE A MEDICAL TYPE HELP RATHER THAN LAW ENFORCEMENT HELP. YOU CAN CALL NINE, EIGHT, EIGHT AND THEY CAN EITHER PROVIDE YOU WITH AN ALTERNATE ANSWER, THEY CAN CONNECT YOU ON A VIDEO SCREEN WITH A DOCTOR. THERE ARE THINGS THEY CAN DO THAT YOU DON’T HAVE A POLICE OFFICER IN UNIFORM STANDING IN YOUR LIVING ROOM TRYING TO UNDERSTAND, YOU KNOW, WHAT IS BEST PRACTICE HERE AND HOW DO YOU HANDLE IT? THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF MENTAL HEALTH HAS ALSO CREATED THROUGH A PRIVATE COMPANY, A DISPATCH CENTER. SO THESE CALLS ARE HANDLED AS IS. THEY HAVE A LOT OF RESOURCES AVAILABLE FOR THEM. AND IF, FOR EXAMPLE, A REASON THAT CALLED NINE, EIGHT, EIGHT REQUIRES A POLICE RESPONSE WITHIN, NINE, EIGHT, EIGHT CAN REFER THE CALL TO US. OKAY SO THERE IS SOME KIND OF COMMON RESPONSE AND PEOPLE WHO ANSWER THE PHONE AT NINE EIGHT TRAIN SPECIFICALLY TO DEAL WITH ALL KINDS OF SITUATIONS. AND SHIFT HERE, BECAUSE IT’S THE HOLIDAY SEASON. SO WE HAVE TO TALK, UNFORTUNATELY, OF THE PORCH. THIS HAPPENS EVERY YEAR. SINCE WE WILL NOT SEE YOU UNTIL NEW YEAR. WHAT CAN PEOPLE DO TO PROTECT THESE INCOMING PACKAGES? THE GREATEST THING, THE TECHNOLOGY YOU KNOW TODAY IS AMAZING WITH I GET THE ALERTS WHEN I ORDER SOMETHING. THE PARCELS ARE ARRIVING RIGHT NOW AND AND SO IF YOU HAVE SOMETHING OF VALUABLE YOU DON’T WANT SITTING ON YOUR PORCH, I ALWAYS, YOU KNOW, WORKING WITH YOUR NEIGHBORS, SOMEONE CAN PICK IT UP, RESCHEDULE THAT DELIVERY OR TRY TO HAVE SOMEBODY THERE WHEN YOU GET IT. I LOVE RING DOORBELLS. I HAVE ONE OF THOSE OR ANY KIND OF VIDEO RINGTONES WHICH MUST NECESSARILY BE A PARTICULAR. BUT IT ALSO CAN ALERT YOU IF SOMEONE IS ON YOUR PORCH AND THEY ALSO CAPTURE THIS VIDEO. THE GOOD THING ABOUT THAT IN MOST OF THESE DEVICES THE VIDEO STORED IN THE CLOUD. SO EVEN IF THEY DESTROY YOUR CAMERA, YOU STILL HAVE THAT VIDEO. AND WE USE THIS VIDEO VERY FREQUENTLY THROUGH STOPPERS AND OTHER MEANS WE HAVE TO HELP SOLVE THESE CRIMES. I WAS GOING TO SAY IT, IF YOU ARE A VICTIM OF A PORCH HACKER AND YOU HAVE THIS VIDEO, CAN THEY CALL THE DEPARTMENT AND SEE IF MAYBE YOU ALL CAN WORK TOGETHER, FOLLOW THIS PERSON? ABSOLUTELY. WHAT WE OFTEN SEE IS THEIR NEIGHBORS OR THEY ACCESS THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD APPS AND OTHER THINGS AND ALERT THEIR NEIGHBORS, BUT OFTEN THEY DON’T CALL THE POLICE. AND SO WE REALLY ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO CALL BECAUSE NORMALLY IF THIS PERSON COMMITTED THE CRIME ON YOUR PORCH, LIKELY COMMITTED SEVERAL OTHERS TO VERY SMART. SO HAVE NO FEAR IF SOMETHING IS STOLEN PLEASE CALL OUR POLICE DEPARTMENT. THEY ARE HERE TO HELP YOU. A DIFFICULT CALL. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR COMING TODAY. WE ALWAYS ENJOY THESE MONTHLY CHATS, GIVING EVERYONE A CONNECTION. SO WE REALLY APPRECIATE THE TIME. WELL, THANK YOU FOR HOSTING ME.

OKCPD Chief Gourley on new helicopter, mental health response

Helicopter approved at Tuesday’s city council meeting

Updated: December 8, 2022 10:41 a.m. CST

We spoke with Oklahoma City Police Chief Wade Gourley to learn more about a new helicopter approved for the department and how the department is responding to mental health calls. Click on the video player above to watch the full interview.

OKLAHOMA CITY –

We sat down with Oklahoma City Police Chief Wade Gourley to learn more about a new helicopter approved for the department and how the department is responding to mental health calls.

Click on the video player above to watch the full interview.