Tulsa County Acting Sheriff, Chief Deputy Announce Plans To Leave

More changes are coming to the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office after acting Tulsa County Sheriff Rick Weigel and Chief Deputy John Bowman announced Tuesday they are retiring.

Some deputies said they are shocked because they thought Weigel and Bowman would remain until a new sheriff is elected in April.

Bowman said he and Weigel have been thinking about retiring and came to the final decision over the weekend. He said the new acting sheriff will be Chief Deputy Michelle Robinette, who currently oversees the jail.

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It was a busy day at the Tulsa County Sheriff's Office as deputies learned the two men are leaving their positions.

"Rick takes the job home with him and he worries about it and his kids and grandkids and family would like to have their father and grandfather and husband back so he decided this was as good as time as ever," Bowman said.

Weigel was named acting sheriff a few months ago when Sheriff Stanley Glanz was indicted by a grand jury and announced his retirement.

Weigel said he wanted to restore the community’s faith in the sheriff's office; Bowman believes they've been on the right track.

9/30/2016: Related Story: Tulsa County Sheriff Resigns After Indictments Handed Down

"At a pretty low point in our history a few months ago but there's no protests groups hanging out outside anymore. We don't have deputies being run out of restaurants because of their uniforms so we have come a long way," he said.

Bowman said they have been implementing recommendations from the grand jury's findings - things like better accountability of field training hours and strictly enforcing TCSO polices.

Bowman said he agreed to wait on Weigel to retire, and now that he's made the decision to leave, it's his time too.

“Through this whole time, from the April shooting and grand jury and everything, we'd like to thank everyone for their patience and support. It's been a tough time for all us and a lot of people here,” Bowman said.

Bowman said Tuesday is his last day and Weigel has two more weeks. However, he could use vacation time and leave even sooner.

1/12/2016 Related Story: Acting Tulsa County Sheriff Involved In Heated Argument Over Budget

Some deputies said they believe some of this stems from a heated meeting with a county commissioner.