March 2026 Newsletter
- Ryan Love
- 3 hours ago
- 3 min read
Welcome to the Tulsa Police Department's monthly newsletter. We've had an exciting month of March, and we're looking ahead to a wide variety of springtime events coming up!
Downtown Division Announced
Earlier this month, Tulsa Police Chief Dennis Larsen announced plans for a fourth patrol division to be located in the downtown area.
The new division will be launched later this year.
The First 48 Departure
After more than a decade, The First 48 is shutting down production in Tulsa.
Our connection with this program spans over 137 broadcast episodes. Each episode carefully balances sharing the victim’s story and the efforts to bring their killer to justice.
Thanks for being a wonderful partner in highlighting this amazing community and the Officers who serve it.
Cold Case Solved
Earlier this month, Detectives announced the closure of a 1993 cold case.
On September 10th, 1993, 21-year-old Leonard Hancock Jr. was found dead in a car near N. Zion St. and Frankfort Ave. In January 2026, Homicide Detectives had the Tulsa Police Forensic Lab review evidence from the case.
Further testing and follow-up interviews identified Bayode Bailey as the suspect in Hancock’s murder. Great work by Detectives and the Forensic Lab for helping to bring this case to a close.
Gilcrease Division
The month of March brought warmer weather and more events on the calendar! One highlight for the Gilcrease Division involved a collaborative effort with the K-9 Unit.
In February, we met with a group of AmeriCorps volunteers who are temporarily living and working in Tulsa, assisting Tulsa Responds with its tax-filing services. They wanted the opportunity to meet Tulsa Police Officers and learn more about how the Department works.
After meeting for coffee at Pancho Anaya, we coordinated with the K-9 Unit to bring the group up to the Academy this month for a behind-the-scenes demonstration. There, we had a lengthy discussion about the Unit, discussing its history, how dogs are selected, and what goes into the training process.
After a quick tour of the facility, we got outside to let K-9s Diego and Mula burn off some energy. They did a variety of article searches, sleeve bites, and played some fetch.
We had so much fun and greatly appreciate the specialty units for getting involved in our community engagement efforts!
Mingo Valley Division
March at Mingo Valley was a bit quieter on the surface, but we were getting everything in place for a busy season ahead.
Now, we’re heading into April with a full calendar and plenty of opportunities to connect with our community. We’ll kick things off with a Touch-a-Truck event at Jarman Elementary—and no, that’s no April Fools joke.
We’re also looking forward to participating in another Coloring with a Cop. And of course, we’re especially excited for the Heroes & Families Safety Day Celebration.
Riverside Division
Officers at the Riverside Division had an eventful month of March!
A couple of highlights include a visit with the students at Will Rogers Preschool. Officers talked about safety with some of the tiniest students, and let them hop into a patrol car.
Just as March wrapped up, Riverside Officers and command staff participated in the opening of a new inclusive playground at Bales Park! Officers handed out swag and even got in on the playground antics!
We're looking forward to a fruitful month of April!
Officers help driver suffering medical emergency
On March 18, 2026, around 10:50 p.m., Tulsa Police Officers responded to a call about a driver who was stopped in an intersection near 41st and 177th East Ave.
The driver rolled through a stop sign but stopped her truck in the intersection and wasn’t responsive.
Officers arrived and started talking with the 66-year-old driver, who said she was OK, but appeared to be having difficulty communicating. She refused to open the door or roll down the window.
Officers could see her brake lights on, suggesting her truck was still in drive and her foot was on the brake.
Due to the potential risk to public safety, Officers formulated a plan to block her truck with their patrol vehicles and block nearby traffic.
Officers contacted her family, who arrived at the scene to help convince her to come out. Finally, she unlocked the door and started to come around.
Paramedics arrived and quickly diagnosed her with having critically low blood sugar. Her family took her to the hospital for further evaluation.
Great work by all the Officers on the scene for recognizing that this woman was in medical distress and for handling this delicate situation with the care she needed.
