Man arrested for impersonating officer, keeping teen runaway at home, police say

TULSA, Okla. (Gray News) – Police in Oklahoma arrested a man after they said he claimed to be a U.S. Marshal, gave alcohol to a minor and harbored a runaway.

Officers responded to an apartment complex for a call about an abduction on Thursday, the Tulsa Police Department said in a Facebook post.

A woman who had talked to officers said her 16-year-old runaway daughter was inside an apartment at the complex. She also said she had previously seen her daughter get into a gold SUV at a gas station nearby. The SUV was parked outside the apartment.

When officers knocked on the apartment door, they met with and talked to Christopher Bartley. Police said he told the officers the 16-year-old girl was not there. However, officers investigated and learned the girl was in the apartment, contrary to Bartley’s information.

When officers talked to the 16-year-old, they said she told them she was staying with Bartley because he had told her he was a former Tulsa Police Officer and currently worked for the U.S. Marshal Service. She also said Bartley often wore clothing that resembled law enforcement, and that he gave her alcohol.

The officers arrested Bartley for harboring a runaway juvenile, false impersonation of a peace officer and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

Tulsa PD said Bartley has never worked for the department nor for the Marshal Service.