Tulsa homeless sweep 'halfway done,' says OHP, with no arrests and one person accepting assistance

The clearing of homeless camps, with removal of people and their belongings, continued Monday in Tulsa, where the Oklahoma Highway Patrol said the first sweep was halfway done.

The work started on Thursday, with state troopers issuing warnings, and clearing started Friday morning downtown behind the jail.

Saturday, workers concentrated on camps between lanes of the Broken Arrow Expressway, near Sheridan, and they continued work there Monday before moving to I-244, according to Lt. Mark Southall with OHP.

"Our goal was not to arrest anybody; that was our last resort," said Southall, who reported no arrests so far, and only one person accepting resources offered to help. The rest, said Southall, simply moved off state property. "We can't make anyone get help or take them anywhere, but as long as they moved off state property, we're okay with that," he said.

Governor Stitt reported in a social media post that 250 tons of trash had been removed so far.

At one of the camps along the BA, Robby Burton was moving out a bicycle and a shopping cart loaded with possessions just moments before a loader moved in to clear out the area.

"They told my friends to move along, and I'm helping get their stuff out. I get it, but it's never going to end. There's always going to be a homeless thing going on," he said.

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