Okla. sheriff apologizes to family of man killed by reserve deputy

OKLAHOMA CITY — Tulsa County Sheriff Stanley Glanz apologized on Monday to the family of Eric Harris, who was shot in the back and killed earlier in April by a reserve deputy who has said he mistakenly pulled his gun instead of a taser.

In a televised news conference, Glanz acknowledged to reporters his long-time friendship with reserve deputy Robert Bates, 73, who has been charged with second-degree manslaughter in the case. If convicted, he could face between two and four years in prison.

Harris, 44, was shot and killed when he fled after allegedly trying to sell a gun illegally to an undercover officer.

Glanz defended Bates’ training record and qualifications and denied falsification of training documents - which was alleged in a news report. The department is trying locate all documents on Bates’ training and will provide records as they are found, he added.

“We are sorry Eric was taken from you. For this I am sorry and my sympathy goes out to that family,” Glanz said.

The death of Harris was the latest in a series of fatal shootings of black men that have fueled a national debate about police use of lethal force, especially against minorities. Harris was African American and Bates is white.

Glanz said two sheriff’s deputies involved in the incident have been reassigned after receiving threats.

Asked whether Bates, an insurance executive who had financially supported the sheriff’s department, should have been out there, Glanz said: “Yes, he should have been.” But he also said that the department would review national standards for reserve officers and that age could be an element in the review.

“I have a lot of people that dedicate a lot of time and effort to this effort to this office and this community and I’m not ashamed of that, and we follow the national standards,” he said when asked about using volunteer deputies who also make donations to the department.

Glanz said Bates had been his insurance agent and that they had visited the Bahamas together.

The sheriff said the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies had recently reviewed his department’s policy and procedures and found they met the national standards.