TPD Chief Chuck Jordan: Retirement decision 'bittersweet'

TULSA — Tulsa Police Chief Chuck Jordan officially announced Friday that he will step down from his post, effective February 1st of next year.

He called the decision “bittersweet,” but added that “ten years is a good time for a chief. Most chiefs don't last that long.”

He spoke about the challenges he faced coming into the job just as the city laid off 129 officers, and five TPD officers were facing serious corruption charges.

And he spoke about the continuing challenges the department will face after he's gone, and how important he feels it is for TPD to rebuild trust in the communities it serves.

“My sincerest hope is that we can regain the trust of all of our community again,” he said. “That's what our main goal is in our police department right now, is to maintain trust throughout our community, and that's what we want to do.”

He returned to that theme a couple of times during a news conference which lasted just under 15 minutes.

It's easy to point out the “squeaky wheels” he said, who make “ridiculous statements” and ignore the larger subject at hand, specifically police relations with minority communities.

“We can't do that,” Jordan said. “There are some complaints that are being made that are valid, and some concerns that are being made about our justice system that are very valid. And I think that we have to remember that just because we don't agree with the loudest people who are making ridiculous complaints, we don't just completely brush off the other people. We've got to listen.”

Here's the news conference, as posted on the TPD Facebook page: