Deputy charged in fatal shooting
OKLAHOMA CITY — Prosecutors have charged a reserve sheriff’s deputy with manslaughter in the death of a man who was fatally shot as he lay on the ground at the officer’s feet — a shooting that has raised questions about the use of volunteer officers to supplement full-time police.
The sheriff’s office has said Robert Bates, a 73-year-old insurance executive who was volunteering on an undercover operation in Tulsa, 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, a 44-year-old black man. 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, Mo., New York City, Los Angeles and elsewhere.
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.”
Harris was treated by medics at the scene and died in a Tulsa hospital.
The family said in a statement that it was “saddened, shocked, confused and disturbed.”
At a news conference on Monday, Andre Harris, the victim’s brother, said he does not believe the shooting was racially motivated.
Tulsa Police Sgt. Jim Clark, who investigated the shooting as an independent consultant at the request of the sheriff’s office, concluded that Bates had been so engrossed in the stress of the moment that he did not think clearly about what he had in his hand.
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 tight budgets.
