"Chief Wendell Franklin and the Tulsa Police Department want to make it very clear we do not endorse, condone or support Yates’ comments made on the show," the department said in a Facebook post on Wednesday, adding "This matter has been referred to our Internal Affairs Unit."
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Yates also referenced The Washington Post's real-time database, which has tracked fatal shootings by police officers since 2015, and said the data showed that a lesser percentage of police shootings have involved unarmed black Americans than unarmed white Americans.
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While the data shows that white people make up half of the shootings by police, black Americans are killed by police at a disproportionate rate, The Washington Post reported.
Yates' comments come amid ongoing nationwide demonstrations against racial inequality and police brutality following the death of George Floyd, a black man who died in Minneapolis police custody on Memorial Day.
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Lt. Marcus Harper, also president of Tulsa’s Black Officers Coalition, expressed concern with Yates' comments, especially given his position "of power" in the agency.
