Politics
Grady County sheriff’s office audit has not started as request remains unfiled
Oklahoma’s State Auditor’s Office says it is waiting for a formal request before beginning a review of how the Grady County Sheriff’s Office handles recovered property. County commissioners voted for the audit more than three weeks ago, and the district attorney says officials are still working out its scope.
GRADY COUNTY, Okla. — A planned state audit of the Grady County Sheriff’s Office has not begun because the Oklahoma State Auditor’s Office has yet to receive the formal request required to start the review, the state office said Oct. 24.
Grady County commissioners voted more than three weeks earlier to seek a special audit focused on the sheriff’s office’s handling of recovered property. The state auditor’s office said it cannot begin work until the official request is submitted.
District Attorney Jason Hicks, asked about the delay, said: “They are working through the parameters of the audit.”
The proposed review comes amid lawsuits filed last month by people who allege the sheriff’s office has wrongfully kept their property and refused to return it. One case involves a man who says the office has not returned his four-wheeler. The allegations have not been established as findings of the audit.
The audit is intended to examine the office’s practices for recovered property. Until the request is filed, the state review remains on hold, leaving questions about those practices unresolved.