Tulsa council committee debates emergency downtown curfew, equity and enforcement concerns loom

The Urban and Economic Development Committee heard extensive debate Wednesday on an ordinance to add downtown curfew hours that would make 9 p.m. the curfew for juveniles within the Central Business District (IDL) and run under the proposed dates of June 26, 2025, through March 31, 2026, with an emergency clause and first-reading adoption requested.

Committee members were presented a working-group proposal developed with Tulsa Police Department officials, downtown business leaders and youth-service partners after a string of violent incidents including a Juneteenth shooting. Brian Kurtz, CEO of the Downtown Tulsa Partnership, said downtown business owners and property owners urged the change. "When my children find themselves in dangerous situations, my first reaction is to remove them from that situation," Kurtz said, adding that the ordinance is intended to remove young people from environments where illegal weapons, alcohol and other hazards are concentrated.

Deputy Chief Mark Womershauser of the Tulsa Police Department described the ordinance as a crowd-management tool. "If you're willing to shoot someone, 25 feet away from law enforcement, an additional ordinance is not going to scare you away," he said, but added that moving the curfew earlier gives officers a chance to disperse…