By Conrad Easterday, CTCN Editor

Grady, Caddo and Stephens counties, along with 74 other sheriff’s offices in Oklahoma, will be receiving some much-needed funding as a result of the state Legislature’s House Bill 2914.
The bill created the Oklahoma Sheriff’s Office Funding Assistance Grant Program and appropriated $18 million to the fund. Counties applied for grants from $150,000 to $300,000 depending on their total tangible property valuation.
For small counties struggling to retain officers, the grants will provide pay increases. Larger counties such as Grady will be able to afford equipment they wouldn’t otherwise obtain. With the $300,000 his office will receive, Sheriff Gary Boggess will focus on rifles for his deputies.
“Right now, my deputies carry their own rifles, and I don’t think that’s right,” he said.
Having a mix of arms in the field can work against officers if they have to meet fire with fire. A shootout with a well-armed suspect a few years ago saw deputies unable to share ammunition between them.
“I want to make sure the Grady Sheriff deputies have the best equipment, the best arms, everything they need to work out there,” Boggess said.
Grady County will probably choose an AR-15 pattern rifle with optical sights.
Caddo County, with $250,000 to improve equipment, hasn’t yet decided how each dollar will be spent, but the deputies’ body cams will be a priority, Chief Deputy Chris Leal said. Tech support and warranties for their aging camera system have expired.
“The grants are going to be really good for funding some equipment that we cannot normally afford ourselves,” Leal said. “It’s going to be good for us.”
Body cams provide protection for deputies and citizens, documenting all activities in the field.
The Stephens County Sheriff’s office will have $250,000 to spend. No one was available to explain the office’s plan for the grant before press time.

The grant program is administered by the office of Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond.

Boggess and Leal both expressed hope that state lawmakers would continue to support sheriff’s offices in future sessions.

The grant funding may become available as soon as this month.