Business owner tells Wagoner council body-cam footage contradicts police report, alleges permitting irregularities

WAGONER, Okla. — During the unscheduled public-appearance slot of the Oct. 6 Wagoner City Council meeting, Travis Mitchell told the council he had uncovered discrepancies in public records and alleged that a police officer’s written report contradicted body-camera footage.

Mitchell said he had filed Open Records Act requests and received what he called inaccurate and incomplete information. "Discovered official documents containing misleading and false information," he said, and added that initial responses to his records requests had been inconsistent with what supervisors told him.

On policing, Mitchell said the officer’s narrative in a police report "did not match what the body cam said" and that he had raised the discrepancy with Chief Haley, noting the department was reviewing the matter. He said some body-cam recordings previously thought not to exist were later located, and he urged the council to ensure transparency in investigations.

Mitchell also raised permitting concerns, saying inspections and permit records sometimes omitted contractor names and written notes that would create an audit trail. "There's no paper trail for that inspector to go back and look at and say, yes, we did say that," he said, arguing that omissions risk favoritism and undermine fairness to contractors.

Council members thanked Mitchell for his service and for bringing the matters forward. The transcript records that Mitchell said he had emailed Chief Haley and expected a response; he told the council he would resend documents if necessary.

The council did not take action during the meeting on the substantive allegations; the transcript records that Mitchell said an internal review by the police chief was ongoing.

Provenance: Statements and allegations in this article are drawn from the unscheduled public-appearance segment of the Oct. 6 meeting.