Unpaid Okla. deputy who killed suspect is big donor

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[h=4]Unpaid Okla. deputy who killed suspect is big donor[/h]The release of dramatic video has fueled controversy surrounding the fatal shooting of a suspect who was already on the ground by an Oklahoma sheriff's deputy. Reserve Tulsa County Deputy Robert Bob Bates says

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Tulsa County reserve deputy Bob Bates said he thought he was holding a stun gun when he shot and killed 44-year-old Eric Harris on April 2nd as Harris struggled with deputies trying to arrest him. (April 12) AP


In this screen shot from an April 2 video provided by the Tulsa County Sheriff's Office, officers restrain Eric Harris in Tulsa.(Photo: AP)


The unpaid reserve Tulsa County deputy whose apparently inadvertent fatal shooting of a suspect was caught on video has donated thousands of dollars in equipment to the sheriff's department since signing on in 2008, the Tulsa World reports.
The release of the dramatic video has fueled controversy surrounding the shooting of a suspect who was already on the ground.
Reserve Tulsa County Deputy Robert Bates says he meant to shoot Eric Harris, 44, with a stun gun during the confrontation April 2 but accidentally drew and fired his .38-caliber handgun.
The video shows Harris running away from officers pursuing him on foot. Harris is caught and put to the ground, where a struggle ensues.
Bates, 73, arrives at the scene and a single gunshot is heard, then, "Oh, I'm sorry. I shot him." Harris is heard screaming "He shot me. Oh my God!" adding that he is having trouble breathing. A deputy responds "(Expletive) your breath."
Sheriff's Maj. Shannon Clark told the World that Bates donates his time and is a highly regarded member of the Reserve Deputy Program. He has also donated multiple vehicles, guns and stun guns, Clark said.
"There are lots of wealthy people in the reserve program," he said. "Many of them make donations of items. That's not unusual at all."
The department website says "dedicated reserve deputies work full time jobs in the community and volunteer their time in a myriad of events such as the Special Olympics and Tulsa State Fair.
Bates, an insurance executive, is classified as an "advanced reserve" and can do anything a full-time deputy can do, Clark told the World. In fact, Bates was assigned to the sheriff's Violent Crimes Task Force.
The video of the shooting was released at the request of the Harris family.

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The Tulsa County Sheriff's Office released video of a man being chased by police. A gun shot is heard after the man is subdued.
Video provided by Newsy Newslook

Tulsa police Sgt. Jim Clark, who investigated the case, on Friday determined that the shooting was not a crime and did not violate department policy.
"Reserve Deputy Bates did not commit a crime," he said. "There's no other determination I could come to."
Clark cited "slip and capture," a psychological phenomenon where, under stress, someone's behavior "slips" off the intended path after being "captured" by a stronger response demanded by the brain.
Clark determined that Bates was a "victim" of the phenomenon.
Dan Smolen, lawyer for the Harris family, told the Tulsa World that Clark's ruling was "premature and ill-advised."
Smolen has also challenged a Tulsa Fire Department report that Harris was "uncooperative and combative" as firefighters attempted to assess and treat his wound.
Smolen said Harris could hardly be combative since he was struggling with labored breathing and his hands were cuffed.
"It's most likely the word combative is being used because that's what they're being told by the Sheriff's Office," Smolen told the World. "The other alternative is their use of the word combative is more a description of Mr. Harris struggling to get air and kind of writhing in pain from the gunshot wound."
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