Broken Arrow Police Chief Placed on Leave Amid Investigation into Warrantless Entry Guidance
Broken Arrow City Manager Michael Spurgeon placed Police Chief Lance Arnold on paid administrative leave on October 14, pending an internal investigation. While Spurgeon did not specify the exact reasons, documents obtained through an open records request by 2 News Oklahoma indicate concerns related to the police department's guidance on warrantless home entries. In March, Chief Arnold had issued an email to police personnel addressing an arrest made inside a residence, noting it conflicted with department policy and the U.S. Supreme Court precedent of *Payton v. New York*. Arnold characterized this conflict as a 'technicality' and attributed it to a training failure rather than a disciplinary issue. City officials later determined this framing risked implying that policy violations regarding warrantless entries could be excused. Subsequently, Acting Chief Scott Bennett rescinded Arnold's email with a special directive after review by the city's legal department and management. This new directive clarifies...
