Multiple OCDC officer applicants, former officers affiliated with gangs, CEO says

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — The Oklahoma County Detention Center says multiple people who applied recently to become detention officers—and multiple former detention officers who once worked in the jail—are affiliated with gangs.

Oklahoma County Detention Center (OCDC) CEO Brandi Garner told Oklahoma County Jail Trust members several people who recently applied to OCDC’s detention officer academy were gang members, or had affiliations with active gang members incarcerated in other Oklahoma jails and prisons.

“We have been able to identify that some people have been trying to get hired on and they definitely have a gang connection to some of the gangs that are within [Department of Corrections],” Garner told jail trust members at their Monday meeting. “And they are trying to further that criminal enterprise within our walls.”

Garner said as of Monday, 137 people had applied for a spot in OCDC’s next detention officer academy, which starts in August.

Garner said OCDC has had to reject more than 20 of those 137 applicants so far because they couldn’t pass a background check.

“21 of them have been denied based on their criminal history,” Garner said.

In a statement to News 4 on Monday afternoon, Garner said at least three of the 21 people rejected would have otherwise passed a background check, if not for the jail’s partnerships with outside law enforcement agencies.

She said—since forming those partnerships with law enforcement in 2023, the jail fired multiple officers they learned were affiliated with gangs while employed at OCDC.

“Our partnership with the Department of Corrections allows us to check [applicants’] records and verify information to make the determination, whether they are gang affiliated or not. With this last round of people we identified at least three individuals who would have otherwise passed our background screening process if it were not for our effective partnerships with external law enforcement partners.  Because of these partnerships, we were able to develop information that showed a significant association with criminal gangs within the metro and within DOC. Back when I first took over as CEO in January of 2023, it was vital that we develop these partnerships in order to maximize our available resources for things just as this. At that time, we checked all of our existing staff and determined a handful of people had close contact and or association with active game members within the prison system and the community. We terminated those individuals immediately. Those who were terminated at that point had a span of anywhere from a few months being employed up to many years. Ever since we have been diligent about our backgrounds to prevent that sort of thing from occurring. That is why it is so important to have someone dedicated solely to our employment backgrounds. They also verify all of our vendors suitability for employment within our agency. I should also mention that we periodically re-screen our current employees.”

Brandi Garner, OCDC CEO

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KFOR.com Oklahoma City.