OKMULGEE – The College of the Muscogee Nation is adding to its security and law enforcement team with the establishment of a Campus Police Department. The new police force was honored at its launch during a ceremony at CMN’s Lecture Hall on Jan. 8.
Levi Payne previously served as Lead Security Officer at CMN and is now the new Campus Police Chief. According to Payne, the plan for the department was proposed in 2014 but has been in development since 2023, with the assistance of the Muscogee Nation’s Lighthorse Police.
According to CMN President Dr. Monte Randall, the college will operate with both its current Campus Security team and the new Campus Police Department. The CMN Police Department currently consists of Chief Payne, and Officers Katie Sanford, Steven Lowe, and Zackary Roberts. CMN Security Officers are Jeremy West, Easton Saffell, and Kim Vickers. Campus leadership believes the combination of Campus Police and Campus Security will make the campus a safer place.
The creation of the CMN Campus Police Department also marks the establishment of the first tribal campus police force in the United States.
The new department, according to Payne, will provide enhanced campus safety by offering a more equipped and faster emergency response to incidents and criminal acts that occur on campus. According to CMN officials, officers will receive specialized training, possess enhanced authority and capabilities that the current Security team does not have, and will be expected to engage with CMN students, faculty, and staff daily.
The ceremony included an explanation of the duties of the Campus Police Department, plans for the department, and an official ceremony where Dr. Randall swore in Chief Payne as the Chief of the Campus Police Department, and where Chief Payne, in turn, swore in Sanford, Lowe, and Roberts as Campus Police Officers and presented them with badges.
In addition to establishing a Campus Police Department, CMN has also remodeled the Security Building to transition into a formal police department, with the Security Building now housing dedicated police offices.
This ceremony marks the beginning of an operational transition period, according to a slideshow shown at the event, during which plans to enhance operational capacity and capabilities will be implemented by 2029.
More information on CMN’s current security team can be found on CMN’s website at https://cmn.edu/security/ . CMN Security can be contacted by phone at (918) 549-2840 and in the event of an emergency at (918) 758-8410.
