Oklahoma lawmaker calls out DOC for alleged violence and potential lawsuits during budget hearing

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (KOKH) — In front of the House A&B Public Safety Committee, the Oklahoma Department of Corrections requested an around $550M flat budget.

While Department staff took the opportunity to lay out some of their upcoming projects, one lawmaker who frequently criticized the Department took the chance to get some answers to his questions.

"We had an incident of inmates being locked in a two-by-two cell, and your own employees said they were locked in there for punishment. I know you're being sued on that. You had somebody who apparently was stabbed multiple times, 70 times in the neck, I'm hearing there's going to be a lawsuit on that," Rep. Justin Humphrey said."How much can we expect in litigation costs this year?"

Rep. Humphrey heard incident after incident of violence inside the prisons, and his concern is how the state would financially cover potential lawsuits.

The General Counsel for ODOC, Kari Hawkins, didn't have a clear answer.

"I will not comment on pending litigation that's privileged. However, I'm only aware of the one employment law case that has actually been filed. I'm not aware of any of those other instances that you mentioned that lawsuits have been filed," she said.

While their General Counsel won't comment on that, issues that are on the DOC's Executive Director's radar are staffing shortages.

"Recruitment and retention continues to be a struggle but we are staying flat," Executive Director Steven Harpe said.

Harpe is also focused on keeping drugs out of the jails.

"We've seen some ups and downs on OD's and things of that nature, and it's still something we're struggling with to get our hands around," Harpe said.

There are also some projects the Department is looking forward to. Due to safety concerns of an aging building Harpe said has caught on fire before, they're moving headquarters.

Along with that, the Department is in the bidding process for construction on the prison rodeo, which could soon make its return.