Q&A With Broken Arrow's New Police Chief, Lance Arnold

The Broken Arrow Police Department has a new police chief.

Chief Lance Arnold was sworn in Tuesday and came to Broken Arrow after working in law enforcement in Norman, Oklahoma and in Texas.

Arnold says he’s excited to hit the ground running and working with his officers and the people who live in Broken Arrow to keep crime down.

WHAT ARE THE CHIEF’S PRIORITIES?

Arnold says he plans to tap into the potential of his department and create a vision for what they can do better.

"We already have a strong police department, one that's got a super solid foundation, and we're just going to continue to push to be ingrained in the community as much as possible and we're going to continue to push to be the best version of BAPD that we can be,” said Arnold.

WHERE WAS THE CHIEF PREVIOUSLY?

According to BAPD, Chief Arnold served as the Chief of the Weatherford Police Department, a suburb outside of Fort Worth, Texas, since 2017.

BAPD says Arnold started his career in Oklahoma where he served for 20 years with the Norman Police Department.

While he was at NPD, he was the commander of the special weapons and tactics team.

HOW DOES THE CHIEF PLAN TO ADDRESS BROKEN ARROW’S GROWTH?

Arnold says he is aware of the challenges that come with policing a city growing at the rate Broken Arrow is, and plans to address those with being proactive and following up on previous issues.

"The biggest challenge is it's a growing community,” said Arnold. “Those things that happen in your larger communities, like when you start to deal with the unhoused population. You deal with mental health issues. Domestic violence has been an ongoing and growing issue in every community, and those are the same type of issues we have here in BA as well."

HOW DOES THE CHIEF MEASURE LAW ENFORCEMENT SUCCESS?

Arnold says policing is more than just taking people to jail.

"Policing is much more multifaceted than just law enforcement,” said Arnold. “There's so many different pieces of it. It's really looking for positive outcomes and they don't always end with an arrest or somebody going to jail."

He says they’ll look past the numbers and into how people perceive their safety.

"We're looking for outcomes,” said Arnold. “The stats are one thing, those a lot of times are outputs. Outcomes are, do our citizens feel safe? Do they feel safe at night in their neighborhoods? Do people feel safe when they come and shop in BA, come to events in BA?"

HOW DOES THE CHIEF PLAN TO ADDRESS DOMESTIC VIOLENCE?

Arnold says domestic violence in the city poses its own set of challenges since it’s not something that can be cut down by more patrolling.

"That's one of the areas, when we talk about proactive patrol in policing, domestic violence is not one of those things that's impacted, or that can be reduced by proactive patrol,” said Arnold. “But what it is is about relentless follow-up, it's about making the right decisions and right actions, it's about finding people and getting them to safety."

WHAT WILL THE CULTURE OF THE DEPARTMENT BE LIKE?

Arnold says his officers will be highly trained, professional, and hold each other accountable.

"You can have as many policies as you want, but at the end of the day, it's a commitment to our core values, a commitment to our vision, and our value system,” said Arnold. “It's being uncompromising in that, it's leading by example, first and foremost. But it's also letting people know, accountability and integrity are core values for us, and they're going to be that way."

Arnold acknowledged previous issues with the department and said they have been handled.

"I think those things are one-offs,” said Arnold. “There's no doubt. They were high-profile incidents, and they happen and they happen in every organization. They just happened at a little higher frequency in a really small period of time here in BA, but that's not an indication of what this department's about."

HOW DOES THE CHIEF PLAN TO LEAD?

Arnold says he is passionate about the job and working with the men and women who are on the streets patrolling.

"Down to Earth, one that still loves to roll up their sleeves and go to work with them,” said Arnold. “Loves to be the boots on the ground, love working night shift patrol so somebody that's not afraid to get down and sweat and bleed with them." 

He says being a police officer is his passion and calling.

"I have a passion for it, honestly I feel called to do this job,” said Arnold. “Originally, I felt called to be in policing because I want to help people and make communities safer and better. As far as leadership goes, I want to create conditions for our members to thrive and flourish in our organization, so after they spend their career here, giving to the community, that they have a healthy and prosperous life after that."

WHAT IS THE CHIEF’S BADGE NUMBER?

BAPD says that typically, Badge Number 1 is reserved for the Chief of Police.

However, to show support for the other members of the department, Arnold decided to take the next badge number that was available, so he will wear Badge Number 345.

WHAT DO CITY LEADERS HAVE TO SAY?

Mayor Debra Wimpee says she’s excited for Arnold’s future with the department, and describes him as someone people will be excited to work for.

"He's known for just being active and going and going and going,” said Wimpee. “From what I've learned, he will get out there and be on the streets with the guys and women. But he's very engaged."

She says his previous work experiences made him sure they found the right candidate.

"What was really special about Chief Arnold was that he had been a City Manager, so he understands municipal government which is so rare, because he gets to see both sides,” said Wimpee.

She says she even got a call talking about how great Arnold was.

"The actual mayor of Weatherford contacted me and was like, 'you guys have no idea the gem that you guys are receiving,”’ said Wimpee. “They're thrilled for him to move on to another part of his adventure, and we're thrilled to have him."

WHAT ARE THE CHIEF’S NEXT STEPS?

Arnold says he will be meeting everyone and creating a vision for the department.

Arnold’s first day on the job was Monday, Jan. 6, 2024.