Western District of Oklahoma's "Operation 922" Domestic Violence Initiative Remains a Powerful and Effective Tool to Combat Domestic Violent Crime

352 Charged and Nearly 500 Firearms Recovered

OKLAHOMA CITY – With October serving as Domestic Violence Awareness Month, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Oklahoma (USAO), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and the Oklahoma City Police Department want the community to know that “Operation 922” continues to be a powerful tool in the fight against domestic violence-related violent crime.

“Domestic violence remains at unacceptable, epidemic levels in Oklahoma. Through the power of federal prosecution, Operation 922 seeks to save the lives of domestic violence victims and responding law enforcement officers, while holding abusers accountable,” said United States Attorney Robert J. Troester. “Safe neighborhoods start with safe homes.”

“ATF’s top priority has always been to keep firearms out of the hands of people that shouldn’t have them. This is particularly true when it comes to domestic violence offenders within our communities. The mere presence of a firearm in a home where abuse is occurring significantly increases the risk of considerable harm,” said ATF Dallas Division Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey C. Boshek II. “Domestic abuse knows no boundaries, nor does the extent of the methods we will go to in order to stop it. We thank our partners, especially the United States Attorney’s Office in the Western District of Oklahoma, for their continued pursuit of justice through Operation 922. Together we are stronger.”

“With October being Domestic Violence Awareness Month, we recognize domestic abuse continues to affect individuals and families across our community,” said Oklahoma City Police Chief Ron Bacy. “We are committed to working with our federal partners in doing everything we can to protect victims of abuse, while ensuring those who inflict harm face the consequences.”

OPERATION 922 - STRATEGY

In 2018, the USAO launched “Operation 922” as a local strategy to reduce violent crime and target the subject matter of domestic violence. Domestic violence is found in all ethnic groups and all communities, including rich and poor, educated and undereducated, urban and rural, and employed and unemployed. 

When domestic violence escalates to a point that it involves firearms, the result can be lethal for victims, responding law enforcement officers, or others (e.g., family members, mass shootings, bystanders, etc.). For these reasons, Operation 922 focuses on repeat domestic abusers and particularly violent offenders who violate federal law—primarily firearms offenses—and uses the power of federal prosecution to quickly remove abusers from the home, protect the victims over whom the abuser exerts control, and safeguard law enforcement responding to domestic calls. Although the USAO has used more than 20 separate federal statutes to hold abusers accountable, the cases most frequently used are federal firearms laws, mostly found in 18 U.S.C. § 922. This statute is the origin of the name “Operation 922.”

OPERATION 922 - IN ACTION

State, local, and tribal law enforcement and prosecutors know who the repeat domestic abusers and particularly violent offenders are in their respective communities. Through Operation 922, they have access to federal agents and prosecutors who ultimately determine whether the facts warrant federal prosecution. 

Unlike in a typical state domestic violence case, when federal prosecutors bring federal firearms charges, the abuse is not critical to the charged offense. Because the focus of the crime centers on the illegal firearm offense, victims are often shielded from testifying and being subject to cross-examination regarding the abuse. However, federal prosecutors are nevertheless able to use instances of abusive behavior, victim protection orders, and prior violent conduct to seek to detain the defendant during the case. Federal prosecutors are also able to present this information at sentencing for consideration by the judge.

Because Operation 922 is victim-focused, federal prosecutors work closely with, and rely upon, the Palomar Family Justice Center and other service providers. These entities ensure that domestic violence survivors receive necessary wrap-around services far beyond the USAO’s capabilities. 

OPERATION 922 - BY THE NUMBERS

Since Operation 922 was launched in 2018, 352 defendants have been charged with federal offenses, with those charges originating in 26 of the Western District of Oklahoma’s 40 counties. Of the 352 defendants charged:

• more than 94% have already pled guilty or been convicted at trial,
• more than 88% have already been sentenced with the average sentence of more than 74 months in federal prison, and
• 33% were known gang members from 43 different gangs, even though this initiative does not specifically target gangs. 

In addition to removing the abuser from the home on federal charges, law enforcement has removed 495 firearms and more than 12,250 rounds of ammunition from those same homes.

Outside of the courtroom, federal prosecutors have provided training on Operation 922 to more than 2,500 federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement officers and prosecutors across the country since 2018. Well over half of those trained were in Oklahoma. The USAO has also provided multiple trainings to other U.S. Attorney’s Offices across the country, some of which have implemented their own domestic violence initiative patterned after Operation 922.

For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, visit https://justice.gov/psn  and https://justice.gov/usao-wdok.