Oklahoma Senate
Reading of citation commending US Marshal Service and comments from US Marshals Museum Executive Director Jim Dunn.
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Sen. Kim David
Senate commends U.S. Marshals Service
Sen. Kim David
The State Senate recognized and honored the country’s oldest federal law enforcement agency Monday. Sen. Kim David authored Senate Concurrent Resolution 7 commending the U.S. Marshals and their role in Oklahoma history.
“Of the more than 250 documented U.S. Marshals and Deputies who lost their lives in the line of duty, more were killed in Indian and Oklahoma Territory than anywhere else in the nation. For this reason, I think it’s fitting that we honor this agency and the men and women who serve in it,” said David, R-Wagoner. “They have served our country and enforced the law during times of domestic unrest including the Whiskey Rebellion of 1974, the Civil War, the Civil Rights Era and continue to serve the people of Oklahoma today by pursuing and arresting fugitives, sexual predators and other dangerous criminals.”
President George Washington established the U.S. Marshals by signing into law SB 1 on September 24, 1789, making the U.S. Marshals the oldest federal law enforcement agency in the country. The agency played a key role in establishing law and order in Indian Territory and Oklahoma Territory prior to statehood in 1907.
SCR 7 also showed the Oklahoma Senate’s support of the creation of the U.S. Marshals Museum in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Senator David was joined on the floor by U.S. Marshal for the Eastern District of Oklahoma John Loyd; Deputy U.S. Marshal for Eastern Oklahoma and Sen. David’s husband, Dan David; retired Deputy U.S. Marshal from Ketchum, Oklahoma Dave Bradley; and Executive Director of the U.S. Marshal Museum to be built Fort Smith, Arkansas Jim Dunn.
“The United State Marshals Museum when built, along with planned tours in eastern Oklahoma, will be a boon to both the State of Arkansas and Oklahoma. It will help create jobs, increase tourism and help educate citizens about the history of the U.S. Marshals and the impact they’ve had on the state of Oklahoma and our country,” said Dunn.
The U.S. Marshals Service administers the Department of Justice Asset Forfeiture Program that converts assets seized from criminals used in certain criminal enterprises to cash and returns millions of dollars to the victims of crime and to the state and local law enforcement agencies nationwide.
Heightened security was provided by the agency in the courtroom and elsewhere as well as protection for the federal judiciary and court personnel in the aftermath of the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma in 1995. Former Deputy Bradley played a critical role in protecting the judiciary and providing security for Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols.
The agency made nearly 2,800 fugitive arrests in Oklahoma in FY 2008 and returned around $5.35 million to state and local law enforcement agencies. Nearly 4,100 arrests were made and over $6.6 million seized in FY 2009.
The U.S. Marshals Service promotes the administration of justice by protecting members of the federal judiciary, transporting and incarcerating federal prisoners and protecting witnesses in high profile criminal prosecutions. The agency also operates the Justice Prisoner and Alien Transportation (JPATS) program that completes over 300,000 prisoner and alien movements per year by aircraft and ground transportation with air fleet operations located in Oklahoma City.
Contact info
Sen. David: (405) 521-5590
