Reserve deputy Robert Bates charged with manslaughter in shooting death

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Prosecutors have charged a volunteer law enforcement officer in the death of a man who was fatally shot as he lay on the ground at the officer's feet...

TheGrio Staff

Apr 14, 2015

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Prosecutors have charged a volunteer law enforcement officer in the death of a man who was fatally shot as he lay on the ground at the officer’s feet.

The sheriff’s office has said Robert Bates, a 73-year-old insurance executive who was volunteering on an undercover operation in Oklahoma, mistakenly pulled out his handgun instead of his stun gun and shot the suspect as he struggled with deputies.

Bates, who is white, was charged Monday with second-degree manslaughter involving “culpable negligence” for the April 2 death of Eric Harris, 44, who was black. If convicted, he could face up to four years in prison.

It was the latest fatal shooting by a police officer to draw national attention after months of investigations and protests of other deaths in Ferguson, Missouri, New York City, South Carolina and elsewhere.

Many of the cases have stirred debate about the treatment of black men and boys by U.S. law enforcement agencies. But at a news conference Monday, Andre Harris, the Oklahoma victim’s brother, said he does not believe that shooting was racially motivated.

The Oklahoma case, however, has raised questions about the use of volunteer officers to supplement full-time police.

A video of the incident shot by a deputy with a sunglass camera and released Friday at the request of the victim’s family, shows a deputy chase and tackle Harris, who they said tried to sell an illegal gun to an undercover officer.

As the deputy subdues Harris on the ground, a gunshot rings out and a man says: “Oh, I shot him. I’m sorry.”

Harris screams: “He shot me. Oh, my God,” and a deputy replies: “You f—ing ran. Shut the f— up.”

When Harris says he’s losing his breath, a deputy replies, “F— your breath.”

Harris was treated by medics at the scene and died in a hospital in the city of Tulsa.

The family said in a statement that it was “saddened, shocked, confused and disturbed.”

“Perhaps the most disturbing aspect of all of this is the inhumane and malicious treatment of Eric after he was shot,” the family wrote. “These deputies treated Eric as less than human. They treated Eric as if his life had no value.”

A telephone message left Monday with Bates’ attorney, Scott Woods, was not immediately returned.

The use of reserve officers is commonplace across Oklahoma and much of the nation. Cities and counties often turn to them for extra manpower because of a lack of resources and tight budgets. They are sometimes used to free up regular officers to concentrate on high-priority duties.

Reserve deputies are permitted to carry firearms but have far less training than regular officers.

Bates, who was briefly a full-time officer with the Tulsa Police Department from 1964 to 1965, is now an insurance executive who updates his certification every year, said Tulsa County sheriff’s spokesman Shannon Clark.

Bates was acting in a support role during the April 2 sting operation and does not typically confront suspects, Clark said.

Tulsa County Sheriff Stanley Glanz has described Bates as a personal friend, and records show he has been a generous donor to the department since he became a reserve deputy in 2008.

Besides a $2,500 donation to Glanz’s re-election campaign in 2012, records released on Monday by the sheriff’s office show Bates donated five vehicles, a computer and forensic camera and a hand-held radio to the department from 2009 to 2011.