A Wagoner County Sheriff Deputy says he has finally been vindicated by the sheriff's department.
2 Works for You investigators broke the story of a department in turmoil, since then, former Wagoner County Sheriff Bob Colbert left office, and is facing felony charges.
For one deputy, a letter from the current sheriff, Dan David, was all it took to feel confident about his job. In the past we've disguised many of our sources, because they feared retaliation. But thanks to this letter, Joel Weber says not anymore.
"In this particular case it was clear to me there was harassment and intimidation and threats going on," Weber said. "That's why I felt it needed to be exposed and needed to be investigated. That's why I pushed it after being told no, to stop to back off."
Weber tried to stay out of the fray, but it wasn't enough to protect him from what he and others call an atmosphere of intimidation and bullying by former Sheriff Colbert and other ranking officials.
Even after Colbert was removed from the office, employees told us the intimidation continued, by Colbert's friend, Shannon Clark, who was fired from Tulsa County's sheriff's department.
"I'll be honest with you, I had high hopes for the guy when he came here," an employee with Wagoner County, said. "I thought he may have gotten a raw deal in Tulsa County, but within a week, no, there was no doubt in my mind that he did do this"
Clark said the allegations against him are false. He has never created an atmosphere of intimidation at work.
In Weber's letter of vindication, it states he was "continuously the target of directed actions by commanders," and it states he requested twice for his superiors to look into it, but both requests were denied.
Now, the letter from Sheriff David supports Weber's claims, that he was unjustly accused of wrongdoing
Other deputies said they are glad an official investigation ruled in their favor, especially now that the department is healing from past administration.
"Hopefully it sends a message out to nationwide that this kind of stuff is not going to be tolerated," Lt. Kyle Johnson with the Wagoner County Sheriff Department said. "This is a new generation of law enforcement and we are not going to be standing for that kind of stuff."
Weber said he wants to thank Sheriff David for investigating and vindicating him within the department.
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