Reserve deputy who mistook gun for Taser is charged in fatality; ACLU blames 'buy a badge' program
A reserve deputy who says he mistook his gun for a Taser in a fatal mishap was charged on Monday with second-degree manslaughter.
Robert Bates, 73, is an insurance broker who had donated thousands of dollars worth of equipment to the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Department, the Tulsa World reports. He is one of many wealthy donors who serve among 130 reserve deputies for the department.
Bates had also donated $2,500 to the county sheriff’s re-election campaign in 2012, the Tulsa World reported in another story.
Bates was charged on Monday, report the Tulsa World, the Washington Post and the New York Times. The manslaughter charge accuses him of culpable negligence in the April 2 fatal shooting of Eric Courtney Harris after an undercover gun buy.
A video of the incident from another deputy’s camera shows officers chasing Harris, knocking him to the ground and trying to subdue him. Someone yells, “Taser! Taser!” and a gunshot is heard. “Oh, I shot him, I’m sorry,” a voice says.
Bates’ lawyer, Charles Brewster, told the Times his client will plead not guilty. “Anyone that looked at the facts here would find that there was no crime committed,” Brewster said. “It was a truly tragic incident.” Brewster said he believes the charge is “kind of a response to the national fervor and media concerning police shootings.”
Reserve deputies for the sheriff’s department, who donate their time, are classified as basic, intermediate and advanced. Bates, who had served as a police officer from 1964 to 1965, was classified as an advanced reserve, which allows him to perform the same duties as a sheriff’s deputy, a spokesperson told the Tulsa World. Advanced reserves must complete 320 hours in an education and training program and 480 hours in a field officer training program.
Ryan Kiesel, the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma, said in a statement that the incident shows the need to end “buy a badge” programs across Oklahoma.
“Eric Harris is dead today as the result of an utterly reckless program that allows donors to buy a badge and play police officer with real guns and real bullets,” Kiesel said. “If someone wants to volunteer to help their fellow citizens cross the street during special events like the State Fair, we have no objection, but to give volunteers weapons and put them in situations like the one that ended the life of Eric Harris is dangerous and foolish.”
Updated on April 15 to remove an auto-playing video.
