'Been A Revolving Door': City Of Oilton Appoints New Police Chief

The City of Oilton has another new police chief after city councilors voted to fire the previous one.

John Hefley was chosen to take over as police chief after the council unanimously voted to fire previous chief Carl Stout.

Stout’s employment was discussed during the executive session, which means details are private—not public.

Records show an emergency protective order was filed against Stout this week. One of the requirements of the order says Stout has to surrender all firearms to law enforcement.

The council’s move ends Stout’s second tenure as the city’s police chief. A new man on the job isn’t a surprise to people like Paul Travis, who lives in Oilton.

“It’s been a revolving door, which has been concerning,” said Travis. “I know there was a time that we had no police force at all. That was concerning as a citizen of Oilton.”

Mayor Patrick Kennedy believes there have been eight or nine police chiefs in the last five years. His goal has been to find the perfect fit.

“When I first came in here, I was wanting to clean up the police department and get going,” he said. “I’ve been getting rid of the bad apples and trying to find a good one.”

Kennedy says Hefley was previously an officer in Coweta and was going to be hired as a reserve in Oilton. He came with a strong recommendation.

“I’m just trying to get the right guy in here that hopefully gets along with all the people,” said Kennedy.

People in town hope Hefley sticks around.

“I would think that surely they would pick somebody that we can get along and figure things out with, to keep some consistency here in our city,” said Travis.

With Hefley already appointed to his new role, the mayor says the focus is now rebuilding the police department and finding money for new police vehicles.