TULSA, Okla. — Tulsans witnessed the actions of OHP troopers, carrying out Operation SAFE. What happened behind the scenes, was a mystery, until now.
2 News Oklahoma unearthed a bevy of documents relating to Operation SAFE – some, illustrating the buildup to the operation.
WATCH: BEHIND THE SCENES: New records show lead-up to Operation SAFE
According to reports from Gov. Kevin Stitt’s office, crews cleared 30 encampments, encountering hundreds of homeless people, including Mickael Roluti.
“For the most part, most [troopers] are respectful,” Roluti said, “I understand the idea of it and what’s going on …. some of these people get nasty.”
Roluti said the operation wasn’t perfect, but served its purpose.
“I’m not gonna take anything away from them, because the violence out here is almost next to nothing,” Roluti said.
Operation SAFE lasted just fourteen days, but its roots date back almost a year. A presentation, created by ODOT lawyers, shows a date of Oct. 2024.
Lawyers created the presentation to instruct people on clearing homeless encampments.
The presentation categorized encampments from low priority, all the way up to emergency.
Emergency encampments, involve those blocking roadways, impeding emergency services, or are in a dangerous location.
2 News does not know of an encampment that would fall under the ‘emergency’ classification.
However, at least one was high priority.
Six tents, or twelve people, constitutes a high-priority camp
During a Sept. 11 press conference, OHP troopers mentioned one camp that would far exceed the ‘high priority’ guidelines, that stretched a ‘mile-and-a-half’ long.
The presentation also goes over the lawfulness of the operations, mainly the laws surrounding relocating people, and taking their belongings.
In short, staff were trained not to ticket people but to offer them another place to go.
That instruction kept Oklahoma within the 8th amendment.
As for taking possessions, the presentation said officers needed a good-faith belief that the items were abandoned.
According to reports from the governor’s office, crews cleaned up at least 500,000 pounds of debris.
“The [local] police, they do a pretty good job, and know a lot of these people … personally. After you’ve seen ‘em and dealt with ‘em for 10 times,” Roluti said.
2 News also obtained emails between a spokesperson for Gov. Stitt, and conservative news outlets.
The emails explained Operation SAFE’s mission, and offered Gov. Stitt for an interview.
At least one producer responded, declining the offer.
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