BPD officer under investigation as questions arise about testimony

The City of Bartlesville has placed a police officer on administrative leave to investigate "possibly less than truthful" testimony made during an investigation into allegations of inappropriate sexual behavior by former Bartlesville Police Officer James Graham.

In 2020, Graham was charged with two counts of sexual battery and one count of indecent exposure stemming from incidents alleged by two female BPD officers.

He was acquitted of those charges earlier this month. although the district attorney dropped one of the charges before the verdict came in.

During the course of the investigation, Graham admitted that he had touched at least one female police officer without her consent, the city said in a news release. He also admitted to exposing himself to a female officer at a police facility while on duty and while acting as a field training officer, according to the release.

Graham disputes those allegations as well as the charge that he sexually battered a female officer.

"Upon completion of the trial and the subsequent acquittal of Mr. Graham, BPD command staff was made aware that one witness was possibly less than truthful at some point during the initial investigation or during the trial," the release said.

The city declined to identify the officer placed on administrative leave, but Graham's attorneys disclosed her name as Officer Jessica Pitts.

"Because the City of Bartlesville takes any allegation such as this seriously, an internal investigation into this matter is underway," the release said. "As per standard procedure, the officer in question has been placed on administrative leave with pay pending the outcome of the investigation."

Graham resigned from the BPD on Sept. 14, 2020, after eight years on the force. A state investigation into the allegations began a few days later when BPD Chief Tracy Roles requested the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigations become involved.

This article originally appeared on Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise: BPD officer under investigation as questions arise about testimony