Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Pay-to-Play Tulsa Deputy Mistakes Gun For Taser, Kills Unarmed Black Man

In Tulsa, Oklahoma, it's possible to pretend you're a police officer if you donate enough to the police department. And in Tulsa, a wealthy 73-year old insurance executive donated a lot to the police department, and found himself deputized and part of the police department's reserve deputy program.
On Friday, that wealthy insurance executive shot and killed an unarmed black man. By accident, he says. It was a mistake is all. He meant to use the Taser and got the gun out instead.
New York Daily News:

“He shot me! He shot me, man. Oh, my god. I’m losing my breath,” Eric Harris says as he struggles on the ground following the April 2 shooting, which flew under the radar until video emerged a week later.

“F--- your breath,” a callous officer can be heard saying. “Shut the f--- up!”
Reserve Deputy Robert Bates, 73, (below) shouted “Taser! Taser!” before pulling the trigger on his gun, firing a round into Harris.

“I shot him!” the former policeman says, dropping his gun. “I’m sorry.”
Bates was assisting other deputies who were trying to take Harris into custody after the felon fled from police during a sting operation, the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office’s said.  READ MORE

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