Mayor Selects Wendell Franklin as Tulsa’s 40th Police Chief
TULSA, OK -Mayor G.T. Bynum announced last week that Wendell Franklin was selected as the next Police Chief for the Tulsa Police Department. Chief Franklin will take his post on Feb. 1, 2020, and will become the 40th Chief of Police in Tulsa’s history.
“Out of several extraordinary public servants, I have decided Wendell Franklin is the best person to lead the Tulsa Police Department after Chief Jordan retires,” Mayor Bynum said. “Wendell has a clear vision for the future of the Tulsa Police Department, he is an effective team builder with high standards, and he knows personally the realities of community policing in all parts of our city. He is passionate about innovation, and his selfless management style reflects the ideal that my administration seeks to instill in the culture of the city government.”
Chief Franklin has served more than 23 years with the Tulsa Police Department. During his tenure, he has focused his efforts on reducing violent crime and increasing community engagement and community policing efforts.
“I am proud to know that Wendell Franklin will not only be the next Chief of Police, but the first African American holding this honored position,” outgoing Tulsa Police Chief Chuck Jordan said.
Chief Franklin was instrumental in implementing and expanding the Downtown Impact Team, a unit of officers who patrol downtown. Since, he has worked with the Downtown Coordinating Council at Central Library to host open dialogues where businesses and employees can reach out to officers and get vital education in regard to law enforcement. Chief Franklin also implemented Cop Chat in the Gilcrease Division, an opportunity for the community to meet with officers and voice their concerns and opinions about policing.
The selection process for the next police chief began in December of 2019 when Tulsa Police Chief Chuck Jordan said he would be retiring in February. Mayor Bynum took seven internal applications and held three January town halls and a public forum to see what the public would like to see in Tulsa’s next police chief. After multiple rounds of interviews, one of which consisted of a panel of Tulsans, Mayor Bynum made his final selection.
Over the course of his career, Chief Franklin has been involved in high-level and sensitive investigations at the Special Investigations Division (SID). Some of his most recent work came during the 2019 Tulsa Flood. Chief Franklin was centered in the Emergency Operations Center and operated the northern command post that helped keep Tulsans safe.
A graduate of the FBI National Academy in 2016, Chief Franklin brought back integral knowledge of social media to the department. Under his direction, TPD allocated money for a Community Education Lieutenant and a community outreach person to handle those efforts. Since then, the department’s social media outreach has grown dramatically.