PRIVATE SECURITY FIRM IMPERSONATES POLICE IN OK COUNTY The ACLU of Oklahoma on Monday called for a criminal investigation of a county district attorney that agreed to give a private firm as much as 25 percent of all cash seized at traffic stops. The ACLU alleges that at least two private contractors have illegally impersonated police officers, a misdemeanor under Oklahoma law. Caddo County District Attorney Jason Hicks first hired Desert Snow LLC, a private contractor, in January as part of a training program for his drug task force. Under the contract signed by Hicks and Desert Snow, the latter would receive 25 percent of profits from arrest seizures that occur with the participation of the firm and 10 percent of the profits when their instructors were not present. Hicks suspended the highway stops earlier this month after mounting criticism, including from a county judge who called stops by unlicensed individuals “shocking.” Hicks said he would review the task force’s conduct, but insisted the he had “done everything right.” The task force had seized over $1 million in cash before it was suspended. At least $40,000 has been paid to Desert Snow, and the private contractor could receive an additional $212,000 from a large arrest seizure in May. Hicks said he hired the firm because his task force had had little success on drug stops and was losing federal funding.
Posted on: Tue, 30 Jul 2013 19:15:10 +0000
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