Police major's sex abuse of boys, men was common knowledge, multiple victims allege

The number of times former Canadian County Sheriff’s Major John Bridges used it was in the dozens, according to reports to state police and an alleged victim, R.W., of Bridges’s sexual abuse of mostly boys and men under his watch.

It went on for decades in this Oklahoma county, R.W. said. The man alleges that Bridges, who also worked as an EMT instructor at a local community college and in various police and fire agencies, also took advantage of inmates at the county jail, students in his classes and hospital workers.

The Lee Enterprises Public Service Journalism Team has agreed not to identify victims of the alleged sexual abuse in this report. R.W. allowed Lee Enterprises to use his initials.

Never charged criminally, Bridges, of Yukon, Oklahoma, resigned in 2019 after the daughter of another of his alleged victims went public with the sexual abuse accusations upon her father’s death. She said her father was too ashamed to come forward before his death.

A culture of sexual exploitation

About a dozen former deputies, attorneys and victims interviewed by Lee Enterprises accuse Canadian County Sheriff Chris West, the sitting president of the National Sheriffs’ Association, of running an office since 2017 in which sexual misconduct allegations have been ignored or pushed aside, generating unease and fear among employees and inmates. A number of those allegations also are made in civil lawsuits and criminal cases.

Four former Canadian County sheriff’s deputies or detention officers have faced criminal charges or civil complaints alleging sexual misconduct since West became sheriff of the county, located about 34 miles west of Oklahoma City, in January 2017.

More broadly, civil lawsuits are targeting West and county commissioners in part for hiring practices — or lack thereof — that accuse them of engendering a culture of sexual impropriety.

Bridges, 61, was named in the civil complaints — not as a defendant, but as an example of that alleged culture.

West was undersheriff, or the second in command of the office, when Bridges was hired. And then West promoted Bridges to major from lieutenant after West won his first election for sheriff in 2016, according to people interviewed by Lee Enterprises.

Asked about Bridges’s alleged misconduct, West told Lee Enterprises that he was made aware of the complaints after the daughter of the now-deceased man came forward to the sheriff’s office with the allegations. An internal investigation was launched, West said. West confirmed Bridges resigned in 2019.

“We looked into it, and pretty exhaustively,” West said by phone. “Based on having individuals who were willing to give testimony, we were very limited on what we were able to do…. I want to be careful because I don’t want to get caught up in some litigation.”

Bridges could not be reached for comment, despite multiple emails and calls.

‘Can I see it?’

Bridges resigned from the Canadian County Sheriff’s Office after allegations were raised accusing him of sexually abusing a boy over a decade and into the time the boy had become an adult, according to two civil cases filed in Canadian County against​ county commissioners, West and various deputies accused of sexual misconduct on duty.

More than a dozen others made similar allegations against Bridges, including some subordinates and students seeking EMS licenses at Redlands Community College, where Bridges was a program director, according to Canadian County sources and victims, including R.W.

EMT, EMS and paramedic students also were allegedly sexually abused by Bridges, according to court records and multiple sources. So were coworkers at Mercy EMS, a now-defunct ambulance service for the western Oklahoma City metro area, the sources said.

“He’s a monster,” R.W. told Lee Enterprise’s Public Service Journalism Team, describing one alleged assault and three years of harassment by Bridges.

It began, this man, now a 51-year-old paramedic in Oklahoma City, says when Bridges was overseeing Redlands’s certification for EMS, EMT and paramedic trainees in the 1990s.

“His tagline was, ‘Can I see it?’” R.W. explained, saying Bridges would use the urinal next to males in a men’s restroom and ask if he could see their genitals. “He would then laugh it off, like he was joking.”

R.W. was given the exact line by Bridges when he was studying to be an EMT at the college at age 19, he said.

“This was 1993, and I needed something (for school) from him. I don’t remember what it was, but I needed something,” R.W. said. “He had me come into (Bridges’s office) and shut the door. And basically, if I wanted him to do whatever it was, he got to touch me. That was the deal. I’m a 19-year-old EMT student, scared. And I let it happen. I froze. I didn't know what to do.”

Many years later, R.W. said he went to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation to report his alleged experiences with Bridges.

“I told him (an investigator) about what he (Bridges) used to say to me in the bathroom, ‘Can I see it?’” R.W. said. “And the investigators turned and looked at each other, and it turns out every single one (of the people who came forward against Bridges) said the same thing. None of us talked to each other about it. None of us would ever admit it. This was the 90s.”

The OSBI would not comment on specific allegations, but a police investigative source told Lee Enterprises that Bridges was under investigation for many alleged abuses of children and people under his watch.

Still working toward his paramedic license but with an EMT license, R.W. was dispatched to the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. In addition to working the scene, he was on mandatory standby for four to six weeks after the bombing. So all that time, he was away from school.

R.W., then 21, stayed at Redlands in the program to get his paramedic’s license for the next two years. Most times, he said, leniency was shown in attendance if emergencies arose. He said he had no doubt that he would get a reprieve from school requirements during the fallout from the Oklahoma City bombing and graduate with his license.

But Bridges was still in charge of the program at that time. R.W. said he went to Bridges, having no alternative, and asked to speak with him about his absence. Bridges told him to shut the door to his office, the paramedic said. R.W. refused.

“I had to repeat paramedic school because I wouldn't let him play with me,” he said. “There were dozens of others who came forward, probably two dozen,” to the OSBI, which sent the case to the Canadian County District Attorney’s Office.

Sheriff West has claimed that nothing could be done because the statute of limitations had passed. The case was closed in about 2021, according to the OSBI. However, Canadian County-based attorney Rachel Bussett said she is aware of a victim whose statute of limitations had not run out but was afraid of coming forward because of fear of retaliation by West.

In fact, she said, many victims of Bridges worked in law enforcement or first responder roles but feared reporting Bridges “because of the powerful reach of West.”

Bussett is unaware of any investigation of Bridges by West, and the Canadian County District Attorney’s Office has not brought charges.

Among Bridges’s alleged victims interviewed by state investigators were inmates and coworkers at jobs that Bridges held over the decades. In addition to the Canadian County Sheriff’s Office, Bridges worked other jobs in law enforcement, including the Yukon Police Department. He also worked in the medical field, according to court records, interviews and the sheriff’s office online biographical information that has since been deleted.

“I can promise you that worthless piece of sh-t has victimized inmates way more than he did coworkers, and he victimized a whole sh-tload of coworkers,” R.W. said.

The OSBI sent the case to West, but no internal investigation was ever launched by West, despite the large volume of allegations against Bridges, according to Bussett. Nor did the Canadian County District Attorney’s Office ever do an independent investigation of Bridges, according to Bussett and two civil complaints filed in Canadian County.

West, in an interview with Lee Enterprises, denied Bussett’s allegation that the sheriff’s office did nothing to probe the claims against Bridges.

“I was contacted by an individual's daughter with certain allegations, and we looked into it, and pretty exhaustively at that,” West said. “Based on having individuals that were willing to give testimony, we were very limited on what we were able to do. … He resigned. He resigned. A considerable amount of effort into looking into that. I want to be careful, because I don't want to get caught up in some litigation.

“When we investigate cases, or we ask another agency to look into it,” West said, “and if you're unable to bring charges for it, you have some limitations on what you can do.”

While more than a dozen victims came forward to the OSBI against Bridges, the statute of limitations had run out for most, if not all, of the allegations.

“I could probably retire out, knowing that … maybe somehow, some way, they could get him on something,” R.W., the OKC paramedic, said.

R.W. tried to get hired at Mercy EMS when Bridges was in charge in 1994. But R.W. said he was asked for another favor from Bridges. He refused, and he didn't get the job, he said.

“If telling this story helps one other person, it’s worth it,” R.W. said. “It almost killed me. It took decades to get over it. I buried it for 32 years, but it almost killed me. I have given up on justice with this, but if it helps someone else, it’s worth it.”

Suing for justice

The case against the major initially made news in 2019, when the daughter of one of Bridges’s alleged victims came forward on social media and gave television news interviews, preceding the resignation. But Bridges’s name was not disclosed in most accounts.

Bussett, an attorney representing victims of sexual assaults and misconduct in Canadian County, did name Bridges in a June 20, 2024, civil suit alleging his abuse was part of “a pattern of sexual misconduct” in the office.

West, she says in the complaint, “would look the other way when deputies in his employ also engage in extramarital affairs, particularly when the sexual improprieties occur between individuals in his office, which promotes a sexually charged atmosphere which is ripe for abuse of individuals under the care, custody and control of the Sheriff's Department.”

West, according to the complaint, would routinely hire or retain “multiple individuals who have had allegations of sexual misconduct or improper behavior at the time of their employment…who are engaging in inappropriate sexual behavior on the job and/or with co-workers.”

Whenever allegations are reported, Bussett claims in the filing, “West fails to take action and instead allows the offending parties to resign or takes no action.”

‘Something that hung over his head’

Bridges was among “the offending parties,” according to civil court filings and interviews.

One of Bridges’s victims was the late Buddy Welch, who, according to his daughter, saw his life spiral because of the alleged trauma he endured by Bridges.

Just 14 or 15 years old when he first met Bridges, Welch had a rough childhood, leaving home for stretches, living out of tents and frequently getting into trouble with the law, his daughter Gabrielle Gilmore said.

Enter Bridges, Gilmore said, who would allegedly promise to make any charges for any possible crime committed by Welch go away as long as Welch performed a sex act on Bridges.

“This went on for almost a decade,” Gilmore said, adding that she informed the FBI. “The phone would ring. My mom would answer it. John would ask to talk to Buddy. My dad would get on the phone. My mom said his entire demeanor would change. He got super angry, like his face would go pale, and next thing you know, John's creepy ass is pulling up to the house.”

Sometimes, Bridges would even pull up in his Yukon Police Department vehicle, she said.

After Welch passed away in September of 2019 at age 48, Gilmore said it was time to come forward. And she felt, “Screw this,” she told the Lee Enterprises Public Service Journalism Team. “I'm not keeping this quiet anymore. My dad's dead. He can't be ashamed of it, so we're getting it out there.”

So she took to social media, making the allegations against Bridges and also discussing her allegations of sexual assault and civil rights abuses with the OSBI. Gilmore also said she made a complaint to the FBI in a phone call rather than a formal complaint. It’s unclear whether the FBI investigated.

“This was something that hung over his head, and I truly believe in my heart ultimately killed him,” Gilmore told Lee Enterprises, adding the actual cause listed on Welch’s death certificate was accident by carbon monoxide poisoning. The origin of the carbon monoxide was unknown. A fire department sweep of the home where Welch lived found no evidence of excessive carbon monoxide.

Welch's former wife, Lisa Eitel, 53, also blames Welch’s death on Bridges. She said she was witness to Welch freezing every time Bridges would pull his car up to the house.

“I believe the reason for his death to this day is because of (the abuse),” Eitel said. Welch, she added, “abused alcohol and drugs because of what was done to him by an officer, and (Bridges) held it over him for the rest of his life…It all had to do with John Bridges, because he just couldn’t get rid of that. Bridges was just scum.”

There was scant evidence of drugs in Welch’s system, and an overdose was ruled out, family said. “I’m thankful that (Welch) is gone, because he’s not living in that hell anymore,” Eitel said.

“Canadian County, there's definitely something wrong there,” Gilmore said, “because there are a lot of eerily similar stories involving different deputies, and it's got to be something stemming from leadership.”

‘Are you nervous yet’

The first call that Gilmore made to the authorities about her father was soon after she went public in 2019.

The call was made to the Canadian County Sheriff’s Office, and the deputy who answered the call said he “legitimately dropped the phone,” as Gilmore ran through the allegations of Bridges molesting her father for so long.

What the deputy, E.R., said he kept quiet was that he also had been solicited for years by Bridges. E.R. asked that his initials be used by Lee Enterprises.

The man, now 33 and a traveling paramedic outside of Oklahoma, said he took Gilmore‘s complaints up the chain of command at Canadian County. The complaints landed with West. But West referred the case to the OSBI for further investigation.

E.R. said that he, too, heard that the OSBI referred the case to the Canadian County District Attorney’s Office. The office refused to prosecute, two investigative sources told Lee Enterprises.

E.R. said his encounters with Bridges included a time at the Yukon Police Department when Bridges and E.R. were on a paramedic tactical team together, and they ran into each other in the men’s room. Bridges peaked over the urinal divider and allegedly asked E.R., “Can I see it?”

“He always liked the passive flirtation,” E.R. said.

E.R. noted how law enforcement and first responders are a small community – so much so that many of Bridges’s alleged victims knew about his alleged conduct against others. After Bridges was told to resign by West, he kept his retirement, his paramedics license and his law enforcement license, E.R. said.

“John Bridges’ peace officer certification is active and in good standing,” according to a statement from the Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training in Oklahoma. “There have been no Final Orders of disciplinary action issued against him by CLEET.”

After Canadian County, which E.R. also described as a “good ‘ol’ boys club,” he and other alleged victims said Bridges worked for a stint at a home improvement store. Until recently, Bridges was working in the cardiology unit at Integris Baptist Medical Center doing EKGs and ultrasounds.

Three sources familiar with Bridges’s work at the hospital told Lee Enterprises he was recently terminated after being caught on the job watching pornography and a background check was completed on him.

E.R. said the most common overtures by Bridges were to ask E.R. for nude photos in exchange for work equipment while E.R. was a deputy in Canadian County. E.R. said the requests by Bridges for the photos were constant, and he sent them to the major on about five occasions.

“He would play it off as a joke,” E.R. said. “But the deal was, if I was to have equipment for my job, I had to give him (a photo).”

The last straw for E.R. came when he said he was in a small room off a main hallway at the sheriff’s office, and Bridges walked in. E.R. was sitting, and Bridges allegedly approached, asking, “Are you nervous yet?” He began putting his hand on E.R.’s upper thigh, trying to move it toward E.R.’s genital area, E.R. alleges.

E.R. jumped from the chair, and they exchanged words.

In addition to the flirtation, come-on’s and requesting of E.R.’s nude photos, E.R. said he vividly recalls an episode involving a man who tried to escape from a drug house, then ran away from E.R., who was on duty watching the house.

E.R. finally got the driver to a spot where he ditched the car and took off, running. E.R. ran after him, catching the man and brought him to the Canadian County Sheriff’s Office.

The man, it turns out, was Buddy Welch, Gilmore’s father. E.R. said Welch told him that he fled because he feared Bridges after spotting the Canadian County squad that E.R. was in.

“He said to me that I thought you were him,” E.R said.

Asked about the “Can I see it?” comment, E.R. said, “Jesus, everyone knew that one.” And when questioned about how many people were allegedly solicited or abused by Bridges in the small fraternity of law enforcement, jailers and first responders, he said:

“Over the years, man, I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say 100.”

Lee Enterprises Public Service Journalism investigative reporter Corey Jones contributed to this report.