A Tulsa police officer was arrested early Saturday morning for stealing cash during a traffic stop.
Officer Marvin Blades Junior, 37, is charged with one count of robbery in the 2nd degree. During a news conference on Saturday, TPD Chief Chuck Jordan said he believes the officer was acting alone.
"I promised the citizens of Tulsa
18 months ago that we would target any criminal or unethical behavior
committed by our officers," said Chief Jordan. "Last night
approximately at 2:00 a.m. Tulsa police arrested one of their own." Investigators
with the TPD Special Investigations Division, Robbery and the Oklahoma
Bureau of Narcotics began investigating Blades Jr. several months ago
after allegations surfaced that he'd been targeting Hispanic drivers in
the area of North Lewis Avenue. On
Friday night, officers conducted a sting operation. An undercover agent
with the OBN was pulled over by Blades Jr. in the 2800 block of North
Lewis. Investigators say Blades Jr. ordered the driver to the rear of
the car, but had him leave his wallet on the seat. That's when
investigators claim the officer stole six $100 bills from inside the
wallet. He then sent the driver on his way.Investigators
observed the officer until they could safely arrest him several hours
later. They found $600 in his right pants pocket. Blades Jr. told them
it belonged to his wife, but the serial numbers on the bills matched the
ones in the wallet. Officer Marvin Blades Jr. was working the first shift in the Gilcrease Division at the time of the arrest. "While
I am disappointed and disturbed by the actions of this single officer, I
am at the same time proud of his peers who came forward immediately and
reported such behavior," said Chief Jordan. The next challenge for Chief Jordan is instilling confidence back into the Hispanic community in Tulsa. “I
am glad that the good Lord saw to it that somebody in the department
saw what he (Blades) was doing and had the right mind to let other
authority to know what was happening,” said Dr. Victor Orta, a local
pastor at a north Tulsa church. Orta is disappointed in officer Blades and is concerned about his community’s trust in the police. He said they left other Hispanic countries to escape police corruption. “There
is a lot of corruption there (other countries) with the cops and all
and they are alarmed and stunned that it is happening here too,” said
Dr. Orta. He
said he knows Blades was targeting undocumented Hispanics because they
would be afraid to report Blades on account of their immigration status. “We will encourage our Hispanics to not be afraid, and to call,” said Dr. Orta. “Organizations
out there, Hispanic First Commission, our churches, the Immigration
Reform and Control Committees, Catholic charities; we will encourage
them and volunteer to go with them so they will not be deprived of
protection from the police.” Dr. Orta believes the Hispanic community will learn to trust the local authorities. “I
say yes because Hispanics in our culture we respect those in authority
and as a Christian we know the bible says to respect those in
authority.”Officer Marvin Blades Junior was booked on a $25,000 bond. He bonded out on Saturday.



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