Oklahoma County Commissioners Meet To Select Future Jail Location As Residents Protest Proposed Jail Site

As Oklahoma County Commissioners prepare to select the location for a new Oklahoma County Jail Wednesday morning, residents living near one of the proposed locations are preparing to protest.

Of the nine proposed locations, one, located near Northeast 23rd Street and North Coltrane Road in northeastern Oklahoma City, has received significant opposition from residents living nearby.

Residents in the area have planned a march from the proposed location, all the way to the Oklahoma County; an almost seven-mile journey organizers say will take about two hours to complete.

One of the main points of the protest, organizers say, is to point out the large distance between services meant for inmates in downtown Oklahoma City, and how far away they would be if the jail was built near Northeast 23rd Street and North Coltrane Road.

Oklahoma House Rep. Jason Lowe (D) represents the area, and said his community has been very clear with the commissioners in their opposition to the jail being built in the area.

"To say we are upset that our community is again being targeted is an understatement," Rep. Lowe said.

However, proponents of the plan say there is a transport plan in place to move inmates across the Oklahoma City metro.

"What we're going to do at the new location, the plan is being developed to transport them to a current provider which is the diversion hub during the day," Timothy Tardibono, executive director of the Oklahoma County Criminal Justice Advisory Council said. "In the evening, especially those that are unhoused, we would take them to the city rescue mission. The new jail would be designed with an overnight holding area to hold them until the shuttle starts running again at 7 a.m."

The protest march is set for 6 a.m. on Wednesday, and participants should arrive at the Oklahoma County courthouse in time for the county commissioner's meeting at 9 a.m.