Chickasaw officer left off memorial

U.S. police memorial leaves out agent Robert P. Flickinger Four Oklahoma law enforcement officers died last year as a result of on-duty traffic accidents. Only three of them will have their names inscribed on the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C.

The memorial will not include Special Agent Robert P. Flickinger, a Chickasaw Nation police officer, said Dennis Lippe, state law enforcement memorial chairman.

Flickinger, a 16-year veteran with the Chickasaw Lighthorse Police Department, died March 7, 2008, in a two-car crash on State Highway 199. The crash occurred when Flickinger tried to pass another car on a hill east of Madill, according to an Oklahoma Highway Patrol report.

"The only reason given by the national memorial was that he was passing in a no-passing zone,” Lippe said. That explanation doesn’t sit well with state memorial officials.Comment:  This could be an example of overt or covert racism. Or not. But if they're going to screen every officer for "human error," they need to do it consistently.