Tulsa Mayor Leads First Meeting Of Commission On Community Policing

The Tulsa Commission on Community Policing met Friday for the first time; its goal is to improve the relationship between Tulsans and police.

Community policing is a top priority for Tulsa’s new mayor – especially as the city looks to hire as many as 160 new officers this year.

For Tulsa Police Officer Popsey Floyd, community policing is more than a job.

"Today I spent the majority of the day just going house to house and meeting the kids," Floyd said.

He said it's a way to change his community for the better.

Floyd said, "When they see me I am here to help. My goal is for people to be running out to my car to flag me down because they need help. Not just medical help or take somebody to jail help, but, ‘Hey, can you help me get a job? Can you tell me where I can go fill out an application?’"

But Floyd said change will take a village.

"That's where I need your help. With you we can do a lot of things," he said.

Friday, Tulsa Mayor GT Bynum led the first meeting with the Tulsa Commission on Community Policing. The group spent the afternoon discussing strategies used by officers like Floyd to connect with communities.

They said the key to change is to have Tulsans and police officers working together.

Bynum said, "By teaming citizens with police officers to make a community safer, you have better crime fighting, you have fewer tragedies and you end up with a better end product and a safer community for the citizens."

The commission will make its final recommendations to the mayor in March.