Wednesday, June 3rd 2020, 5:23 pm
Oklahoma City police Chief Wade Gourley is speaking out for the first time about this weekend’s demonstrations that turned violent.
He said his officers were "outstanding" in performing their duties this weekend when violence broke out.
Black Lives Matter OKC is demanding Gourley resign and said his officers escalated the situation.
Gourley told News 9 he will not be resigning or apologizing for his officers’ actions.
“I think it's kind of odd that I haven’t been given a chance yet. I’ve been here for a year and I’ve dealt with more serious issues that most police chiefs do in a lifetime. Let's get through this together,” Gourley said.
In his second year, Gourley is facing a proposed a $6 million department-wide budget cut.
It includes freezing 34 officer positions to the 1,100 officer force.
The chief said he plans to rely on state grants to help patrol specific areas of Oklahoma City.
Gourley said those grants helped pay for overtime for officers and have helped reduced violent crime on the southside nearly 4%.
Despite the cuts, Gourley’s goal is to reduce aggravated assaults, like shootings, citywide by 5% by next year.
He told News 9 part of the job includes a lot more than just placing officers on the streets.
“We have to have community involvement. We have to listen,” Gourley said.
The OKC City Council is expected to vote on the budget on June 16.
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