What is a stalking protective order? What steps must I take before filing for the order?
A stalking protection order is a civil court order that is designed to protect you from a stalker by ordering him/her to stop following you and threatening you. Even though you use the same petition as a protective order for domestic abuse to file for a stalking order, you do not need to have a “family or household member” relationship with the stalker in order to file for a protection order against him/her – although if you do have that type of relationship, you could still apply for this order.1
However, if you are applying against someone who is not a family/household member or a dating partner, you must first file a complaint against the stalker with law enforcement before filing for the order in district court. You must provide a copy of that complaint at the full hearing. If you do not provide a copy of the complaint that you filed with the law enforcement agency, your petition can be considered “frivolous” and the judge can order you to pay attorney fees and court costs.2
Note: When you report stalking to law enforcement, if they believe that it did occur, law enforcement is required to send a “Stalking Warning Letter” to the accused. This letter serves as a “formal warning” that any future similar conduct could result in an arrest. If you do not want this letter to be given to the stalker, you must specifically ask law enforcement to not serve this letter to the accused.3
1 22 O.S. § 60.2(A)
2 22 O.S. § 60.2(A)(1)
3 21 O.S. § 1173.1