31 ARRESTED IN DEA INVESTIGATION

Norman Police department officials are not releasing the names of three
officers who were placed on paid leave Friday pending an internal
investigation into criminal drug activity.

Lt. Tom Easley said the matter is personnel-related and the three officers
have not been arrested.

He said the department is investigating whether the officers participated
in criminal drug activity similar to that which led to Norman patrolman
Kyle Sherman's arrest Thursday following a drug raid by Oklahoma Drug
Enforcement Agency officials.

Sherman, 34, a 13-year Norman police department veteran, was charged in
Oklahoma County District Court with conspiracy to distribute a controlled
and dangerous substance - illegal steroids - according to court records.
Bob Surovec, DEA assistant special agent in charge, said Sherman was one of
31 individuals arrested in Oklahoma County Thursday as a result of an
ongoing DEA investigation of a possible drug-ring operation in the metro area.

He said the investigation led to the arrest of Oklahoma Highway Patrol
trooper Timothy H. Timmons, 36, as well as 29 other metro-area individuals
including body building champion Monica Hale and former University of
Oklahoma baseball pitcher Curtis White.

He said the DEA investigation started more than a month ago when certain
individuals suspected drug trafficking was taking place in the metro area.

Surovec said it took some phone-call monitoring and wiretaps to reveal
their suspicions were true. But the investigation is being conducted on an
areawide scale and is not focused on law enforcement agencies.

"This is not an investigation of police departments," Surovec said. "The
focus has shifted somewhat onto the police since (Sherman and Timmons) were
arrested."

He wouldn't speculate how long the investigation will take, nor would he
estimate how many people will be arrested in the end.

Sherman and the three un-named officers all have been suspended from the
department with pay, Easley said.