08/27/2026
Sheriff’s Office releases Body-Camera footage in response to Catoosa traffic stop allegations
The Wagoner County Sheriff’s Office is aware of the allegations regarding a recent traffic stop involving one of our deputies in the Catoosa area on 08-19-2026. We take any concern regarding the conduct of our deputies seriously. However, the statements made in a social media post on Conversation Catoosa do not accurately reflect the totality of the encounter.
On 08-19-2026, Deputy R. Russell observed a Nissan Cube with no displayed vehicle tag. Deputy Russell initiated a traffic stop for the lawful traffic infraction. During the stop, the driver stated that the vehicle had never been registered. Deputy Russell cited the driver and impounded the vehicle for not being registered after purchased.
During the traffic stop, our deputy remained professional and conducted himself in accordance with his duties and Sheriff’s Office expectations. The actions taken during the encounter were based on the circumstances and applicable law.
The allegation that our deputy intentionally failed to activate his body-worn camera is incorrect. The Sheriff’s Office is releasing the available body-camera footage along with this response in the interest of transparency, allowing the public to review the encounter and draw their own conclusions based on the actual events rather than allegations or assumptions.
We encourage members of the public to review the complete footage and context of the interaction before reaching conclusions about the conduct of our personnel. The Wagoner County Sheriff’s Office remains committed to professionalism, accountability, transparency, and respectful treatment of everyone we encounter while carrying out our responsibilities to the community. We appreciate the public’s trust and will continue to address legitimate concerns through the appropriate channels.
Here is the original social media post from the subject that was involved in the incident, “So this is a message of caution to the women in the Catoosa area. Be very cautious with the Wagoner county sheriff's . There is an officer Russell tall guy bald head that likes to be mean and argumentative and threatening to women. He also seems to have a habit of not turning on his body cam when he pulls women over. I will advise all women that get pulled over by any officer but especially Wagoner county as it seems to make sure you're recording and refuse to step out of the vehicle for any reason because he tried to force my girlfriend out of the vehicle and impounded said vehicle. Because we had just got the vehicle and didn't have the paper 60 day tag. Now that officer has went by me even yesterday on the side of the road and doing a u-turn on admiral because I needed to go back and did not attempt to pull me over at all but if he sees a woman in the car alone he will pull them over. It's not an attempt of a little it's a proven fact he has done it twice to my girlfriend and not had his body cam on or at least it not showing red dot for recording . Ladies and men out there with women at home make sure you are cautious around them and make sure that they record the conversations and any video that they need to have to make sure that that officer does not take advantage or threaten them. The officer that he had with him refused to back him up on what he was saying and the impound he backed away from all of it when he told my girl that he was going to impound the vehicle and she needed to get out and get in his truck. He also demanded the keys and laughed whenever I picked her up because she had locked the vehicle up and he wanted to search it for no reason other than no tag. Watch this officer I cannot vouch for any of the other ones other than the smaller Asian gentleman who is both respectful and understanding. Ladies please be safe and do not let them get you out of that car without having a recording going on”
Wagoner County Sheriff Chris Elliott stated, “Any allegation involving the conduct of one of our deputies deserves to be taken seriously and addressed with facts. In this case, the body-camera footage provides the public with an opportunity to see the encounter in its entirety and understand the circumstances for themselves. Our deputy remained professional throughout the traffic stop, and the claim that he intentionally failed to activate his body-worn camera is incorrect. We believe in transparency and accountability, and that is why we are making the available footage public. We ask our community to review the complete footage and the context of the encounter before drawing conclusions based on allegations made on social media.”
