TULSA, Okla. –– A Tulsa police lieutenant who was a leader with the department’s Black Officer Coalition and an outspoken critic of the department was charged on Tuesday with accessory to a felony in connection with a shooting that occurred on August 24, 2020.
Lt. Marcus Harper was charged along with Officer Ananias Carson. Tulsa Police Chief Wendell Franklin said in an afternoon press conference that both officers had been suspended with pay since August 2020 and upon the charges today, that status would be changed to leave without pay.
According to the arrest affidavit, Harper and Carson were called to the home of former TPD officer Latoya Lisa Dythe after a shooting near 6100 South Peoria Avenue that involved Edward Townsell and Jonathan Jones. The affidavit states Jones was at the home of Dythe with the weapon used in the shooting when the two officers arrived. The affidavit states that both Harper and Carson knew of Jones’s involvement in the shooting but did not report the crime and advised Officer Dythe not to tell anyone they were present at the apartment.
Dythe plead guilty in federal court in May to illegally buying a gun and providing it to Devon Jones who later used that gun in a shooting.
Lt. Harper was assigned to the Major Crimes Unit and was the supervisor in charge of crime scene investigations that included evidence collection. Chief Franklin said that his involvement in this crime may be an issue for the previous cases he worked on and that the department was looking at the issue. Carson was a patrol officer at the time of his suspension.
Chief Franklin indicated that the department cooperated with “federal and state” authorities during the investigation and that he was “committed to defending the integrity of the Tulsa Police Department.”
Harper is married to Tulsa City Councilor Vanessa Hall-Harper, who has been a vocal critic of the police department, alleging that corruption exists within the agency.
District 12 District Attorney Matt Ballard was assigned to the case after Tulsa County District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler’s recusal.
At a Tuesday press conference, he said that “no person is above the law, and Tulsa Police Department should be commended for ensuring an accurate and comprehensive investigation.”
