Allegations of Widespread Sexual Misconduct Inside Oklahoma Sheriff’s Office

Photo: El Reno Carnegie Library, Canadian County, OK; via Wikipedia.

Multiple former deputies, first responders, and community members in Canadian County, OK, allege that a long-running pattern of sexual misconduct was allowed to take root inside the Canadian County Sheriff’s Office, Tuscon.com reported today.

At the center of many of these claims is former Sheriff’s Major John Bridges, a onetime high-ranking officer who also held positions in EMS instruction, local police agencies, and medical facilities across the region. Bridges resigned in 2019 after a woman publicly reported that her late father had endured years of abuse, prompting an internal review and a referral to state investigators.

According to victims, students, and former colleagues, concerns about Bridges’ behavior date back decades and crossed multiple workplaces, including a community college EMS program, an ambulance service, and the county jail. Many describe a professional environment where inappropriate remarks or conduct were dismissed as jokes or normalized. Several former deputies say that reporting misconduct felt futile because they believed senior leadership would not act decisively. Some victims say they feared retaliation or professional harm if they came forward.

Civil lawsuits now accuse the Sheriff’s Office and county leadership of failing to properly vet employees, ignoring repeated red flags, and creating an environment in which individuals in positions of authority could exploit power imbalances. Plaintiffs describe a system where allegations were minimized, where individuals accused of misconduct quietly resigned rather than being meaningfully investigated, and where victims were left without a path to accountability.

While the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation reviewed numerous allegations involving Bridges, many claims were constrained by statutes of limitations. According to attorneys representing victims, some survivors who still had viable claims declined to pursue them out of fear of retaliation or distrust in local leadership. Multiple survivors say the impact of the misconduct followed them for decades, affecting their mental health, careers, and personal lives.

The Sheriff’s Office maintains that it reviewed the allegations to the extent possible and referred the matter to outside investigators. However, victims and their attorneys argue that meaningful internal accountability never materialized. Bridges has never been criminally charged, and according to state licensing authorities, he still holds an active peace officer certification.

For many survivors, public acknowledgment has become a form of justice in itself. Several say they chose to speak out to protect others, especially individuals in law enforcement, EMS training programs, or detention settings who may still be vulnerable to abuse. Their central concern is that the alleged culture that enabled Bridges’ behavior reflects broader institutional failures, failures they hope to expose so that future complaints are taken seriously, properly investigated, and never dismissed as workplace rumor or “harmless” behavior.