Atoka County voters threw Tony Head out of office, but multi-time cockfight buster Chris Bryant is out in Carter County

Newly elected Atoka County sheriff Kody Simpson and Carter County sheriff D.J. Long, “elected” by coin flip, will get their first tests of willingness to enforce the Oklahoma felony cockfighting law upon taking office in January 2025.

Atoka County voters ousted Tony Head from office, while multi-time cockfight buster Chris Bryant lost out in Carter County.

Newly elected Atoka County sheriff Kody Simpson and Carter County sheriff D.J. Long, who was “elected” by coin flip, will face their first tests of willingness to enforce the Oklahoma felony cockfighting law upon taking office in January 2025.

Simpson, an Atoka town police officer, “earned 51.66 percent of the vote to unseat incumbent Sheriff Tony Head, who received 36.57 percent of the vote in the Oklahoma primary election of June 18, 2024,” reported Faithanna Olsson for NonDoc, an Oklahoma-based project of the Sustainable Journalism Foundation.

“In all, 1,504 Atoka County residents voted,” Olsson wrote.

Head, the ousted 12-year incumbent, “topped the list of signatures on an April 2023 letter calling on the Oklahoma Legislature to lower criminal punishments for cockfighting offenses,” Olsson recalled.

“Head was accused of tipping off cockfighting rings about potential raids and visits, as well as not enforcing the law when cockfighting occurred,” Olsson mentioned.

Who reported that? Not local media serving Atoka County.

ANIMALS 24-7 did, on July 14, 2022, based on extensive investigation by Showing Animals Respect & Kindness.

(See Who told the Atoka County cockfighters the cops were coming?)

“Getting rid of Tony Head is good news,” emailed Kevin Chambers, Oklahoma state director of Animal Wellness Action.

“We raised the cockfighting issue on social media in Atoka County over the past year and the ANIMALS 24-7 article about him was widely circulated,” Chambers said.

Atoka County is represented in the Oklahoma statehouse by Justin Humphrey, the author of bills in recent legislative sessions seeking to decriminalize cockfighting, and earlier the author of an attempt to introduce a Bigfoot hunting season.

In Carter County, D.J. Long unseated incumbent sheriff Chris Bryant, noted for distinguished enforcement of the Oklahoma cockfighting law, on the strength of a June 28, 2024 coin toss.

Each candidate drew 2,569 votes in the election day balloting.

A nine-hour hand recount by four counters and four talliers failed to break the tie.

Long has no visible history pertaining to cockfighting.

Bryant was endorsed by former two-term Oklahoma governor Frank Keating, a Republican, and by Animal Wellness Action Oklahoma.

“Sheriff Bryant and his deputies have busted three cockfighting operations in the county, most recently bringing charges against seven individuals for being spectators at an illegal cockfighting operation busted in April,” explained an Animal Wellness Action media release.

“That builds on prior arrests of Catlin Gavitt and Darline Gavitt, who were charged with two felonies for operating a cockfighting facility and for owning and possessing birds for fighting,” Animal Wellness Action continued.

“Showing Animals Respect and Kindness and Animal Wellness Action had received a tip about the cockfight on April 20, 2024 in Wilson, Oklahoma, and shared that information with Carter County authorities, who acted on the information of the illegal fight.

(See Alleged cockfight hosts charged; Gamefowl Commission head is sued.)

“Last year,” Animal Wellness Action continued, “Sheriff Bryant and district attorney Melissa Handke worked to bring felony charges against seven men, including a leader of the Oklahoma Gamefowl Commission, for offenses related to illegal cockfighting.”

The Oklahoma Gamefowl Commission is a pro-cockfighting advocacy group. Despite the official-sounding name, it has no governmentally delegated authority.

“Four others faced misdemeanor charges for an event dubbed as the ‘Asian Gaff Championship,’” Animal Wellness Action said, at which deputies in June 2023 reportedly impounded about sixty gamecocks and confiscated 20 vehicles and trailers.

Arrested on that occasion was Chance Campo, at the time a district leader of the Oklahoma Gamefowl Commission.

(See Alleged cockfight hosts charged; Gamefowl Commission head is sued.)

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