By Barbara Hoberock, Oklahoma Voice
OKLAHOMA CITY – Gov. Kevin Stitt’s removal of homeless camps in Tulsa will be an ongoing process and could expand to other areas of the state, an Oklahoma Highway Patrol official said Tuesday.
As of mid-Monday, the Highway Patrol had helped remove about 30 encampments and about a dozen more had been identified, said Lt. Mark Southall. One particular camp was a mile long, he said.
Some of the camps have been around for years, Southall said.
“Once we get these camps that are by the roadways on state property cleaned up, we’re going to have to continue to go back and check on these camps and make sure there’s not people living in them,” he said.
Late last week, Gov. Kevin Stitt announced he had launched Swift Action for Families Everywhere, or “Operation SAFE,” in an effort to end homelessness in Tulsa by dismantling camps on state property. Stitt’s campaign was launched without consulting Tulsa’s mayor.
Initially, OHP issued warnings to homeless individuals. The Oklahoma Department of Transportation posted notices at encampments on state property telling individuals to vacate the area.
On Friday, OHP and other state agencies began clearing out the encampments. They offered homeless individuals a ride to a treatment or housing facility or a trip to jail if they refused.
As of Tuesday, Southall said troopers encountered hundreds of homeless individuals. About 600,000 pounds of trash and debris have been removed from encampments, he said.
The operation has involved between 20 and 25 troopers, he said.
Troopers approached the operation with compassion for those involved, Southall said.
“Knowing these people have lived in some of these camps for over 10 years and that moving was going to be hard for them – we had no problems,” he said. “Almost everybody that we dealt with was cooperative to the point we didn’t have to make any arrests.”
One person accepted an offer for services, said Sarah Stewart, a spokeswoman for the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety.
Stewart said one person’s dog had been shot after lunging at an officer. The dog was taken for treatment.
Southall said the dog later died.
The camps have become a public safety issue, Southall said.
Some homeless people are involved in automobile-pedetrian collisions, he said.
“It’s sad enough they are homeless,” Southall said. “It’s even worse if they get hit by a car and die.”
In addition, homeless people build unsafe fires and have discarded bodily fluids near public waterways, he said.
Troopers have also found stolen property within the camps, Southall said.
“Our goal is to continue to check on these camps as time goes on to where people know you just can’t camp on state property or they are going to come move you away,” Southall said.
Tulsa Mayor Monroe Nichols on Monday said Stitt did not give notice or coordinate with local officials.
“This is somewhat of a manufactured crisis by doing it without coordination with the city,” Nichols said. “And so my great hope is that it doesn’t last long going down the road.”
Nichols said Stitt was aware that the city’s homeless shelters were over 100% capacity.
He said the operation is having a negative impact on public safety. In addition, it has undermined the relationships local law enforcement and others have cultivated with the homeless population, he said.
Nichols said the city has been working to reduce homelessness and provide affordable housing.
“Progress sometimes is not as fast as some people would like it to be, but progress does not look like a bunch of Instagram and Twitter videos that, frankly, tell not even half of the story,” Nichols said.
Nichols was referring to Stitt’s use of social media showing the removal of debris and items left behind.
