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Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner Glen Mulready donated a Remington 870 Shotgun to the Coweta Police Department Chief Mike Bell (pictured) at the Oklahoma Insurance Department’s Oklahoma City office on Thursday.

The Oklahoma Insurance Department’s Anti-Fraud Division collected the shotguns they do not use anymore and donated them to underfunded law enforcement agencies. Anti-Fraud Chief Investigator Rick Wagnon contacted the Oklahoma Association of Chiefs of Police and the Oklahoma Sheriff’s Association for a list of underfunded agencies that each association could recommend.

From that list, Commissioner Mulready said he drew the winners randomly and contacted each agency to schedule the shotgun hand-off. He said he learned the shotguns have been in the Insurance Department's possession for seven years and had never been used. With that knowledge, Commissioner Mulready knew it was time to give them to agencies that could actually utilize  them

Wagnon said they carefully selected small, underfunded agencies that could get the most benefit from this donation. He also said the most of these agencies do not have shotguns and are excited to receive them.

Commissioner Mulready said that his department will donate a total of seven shotguns to the agencies like the Sequoyah County Sheriff’s Office, the Perkins Police Department, the Love County Sheriff’s Office, the Coweta Police Department, the Kiefer Police Department, the Kiowa County Sheriff’s Office and the Haskell County Sheriff’s Office.

The Anti-Fraud Division has about six retired police officers from the Tulsa and Oklahoma City area that spend their days investigating white collar crime (i.e. insurance fraud). Commissioner Mulready said the Oklahoma Insurance Department focuses on licensee fraud. He said this crime could be committed by an insurance agent, a bail bondsman, or a real estate appraiser that the Department licenses.

Those cases will then be handed over to the Attorney General's Office. They handle consumer fraud, which Commissioner Mulready said they are trying to get back to investing with the Anti-Fraud Division.

Even though the shotguns are being donated, the Anti-Fraud Division for the Insurance Department will still be armed. Commissioner Mulready said his CLEET certified officers will carry handguns. He just thought the shotguns would be put to better use in rural areas of Oklahoma.

If you have questions about other insurance issues, contact the Oklahoma Insurance Department at 1.800.522.0071 or visit our website at oid.ok.gov.

(Picture courtesy: Oklahoma Insurance Department)