By FOX23 News
TULSA, Okla. — The Tulsa Police Department announced that Attorney General Gentner Drummond named Detective Paula Maker the 2026 Northeast Region Officer of the Year.
TPD said Detective Maker embodies the heart, soul and dedication of the department.
Before finding her calling in specialized investigations, she served the community in Patrol and worked as a Divisional Investigator. For the last 12 years, she has served as an investigator in the department’s Child Crisis Unit.
TPD said in Child Crisis, Detective Maker handles some of the most difficult cases imaginable, investigating child homicides, torture, sexual abuse and severe neglect. She approaches every case with professionalism, care and compassion.
Over the past 18 months, she spearheaded a complex child torture and no-body homicide investigation that required painstaking work, ultimately resulting in multiple life sentences for the perpetrators.
As the senior detective in her unit, Detective Maker mentors six newer detectives and volunteers her time on the department’s Peer-to-Peer team to support her fellow officers.
