Tulsa Cop Charged For Taser Shooting Was a ‘Pay to Play Cop’

A Tulsa County reserve deputy who has been charged in a fatal shooting bought at least five automobiles and surveillance equipment for the undercover unit to which he was assigned, records show.

The incident was also not the first time Robert Bates has been involved in a use of force during an arrest while serving as a reserve deputy. Undersheriff Tim Albin told the Tulsa World that Bates used a Taser on a person during an arrest in the past but no policy violation occurred.

Reserve Deputy Robert Bates, left, was involved in the shooting of suspect Eric Harris, right, after mistaking his service weapon for a stun gun, accidentally killing him

Bates owns an insurance company and served as chairman of the Re-elect Sheriff (Stanley) Glanz Committee in 2012. Records show he donated $2,500 to Glanz’s campaign that year.

The Sheriff’s Office said Bates, 73, accidentally shot Eric Harris on April 2 after Harris fled from arrest and then fought with a deputy who tackled him. Bates claimed he thought he was holding a Taser when he pulled the trigger.

The fatal shooting occurred during an undercover gun operation involving the Sheriff’s Office’s Violent Crimes Task Force. Bates is one of about 140 volunteer reserve deputies working for the sheriff’s office.

Harris, 44, could have faced a life prison sentence in the case due to his extensive criminal history, Albin said. He was shot in the right axilla, the area under the joint that connects the arm to the shoulder, according to the state Medical Examiner’s Office.

Despite prior claims by the Sheriff’s Office that many other reserve officers donate items to the Sheriff’s Office, county records list only Bates as donating to the agency.

In a statement Monday, Harris’ family criticized the Sheriff’s Office for allowing Bates to serve in the undercover unit.

“We do not believe it is reasonable for a 73-year-old insurance executive to be involved in a dangerous undercover sting operation. We do not believe it is reasonable for Bob Bates to be carrying a gun that was not issued by TCSO. We do not believe it is reasonable — or responsible — for TCSO to accept gifts from a wealthy citizen who wants to be a ‘pay to play’ cop.”

Bates became a reserve deputy in 2008 and the following year began donating items to the Sheriff’s Office for the newly formed drug task force. Records show he donated three automobiles that year: 2008 and 2009 Dodge Chargers and a Crown Victoria.

He also donated a computer to be placed in one of the new cars, as well as a $5,000 “forensic camera” and lens kit.

In 2010, Bates donated a 2007 Ford F-150 and a 2010 Chevy Tahoe. He also donated a Motorola hand-held radio “to be used by the drug unit for surveillance work,” records state.

In 2011, he donated a 1997 Toyota Avalon for “use as an undercover car by the drug task force.”

Albin said Bates is the only reserve deputy to donate to the Sheriff’s Office “to that extent.”

“A lot of those guys will donate gear, will donate time, will pay for training, they will sponsor a baseball or softball team.”

He said many reserve deputies “are just working-class people that wanted to donate back to the community” by giving their time.

Sheriff Stanley Glanz said Monday that Bates is not the only reserve deputy to purchase cars for his office. At least two others — David Stone and Hastings Siegfried — have donated vehicles.

“They donate them to the Sheriff’s Office and use them while they’re working,” Glanz said.

He added that Siegfried and other reserve deputies have made their helicopters available to the Sheriff’s Office.

Reserve deputies fall into three categories based on experience and training.

Bates and other reserve deputies who have been a police officer are automatically designated as an “advanced reserve,” the highest reserve rank, Glanz said.

It is unclear why Bates left the Tulsa Police Department after serving exactly one year. Records show he started employment as a Tulsa police officer on Jan. 1, 1964 and his employment ended on Jan. 1, 1965.

His attorney, Clark Brewster, said: “I know he went through the academy and I don’t know the specifics of why he left.”

Albin said Bates was the only reserve to take part in the undercover operation and was stationed on the outskirts to help with containment. The undercover unit planned to execute a search warrant at Harris’ residence after his arrest.

“Bob generally carries a pepper ball gun that is used against some of these man-eating dogs we run into at these houses. He got thrust into this thing really with no intention of being thrust into it.”

Albin said other reserves don’t work the drug task force “because these guys run and gun 24 hours a day. … Bob is in a position with his company to be able to come and do that.”

When asked whether Bates had ever used force during an arrest before the April 2 shooting, Clark said: “I think one time before he used a Taser on a guy who was fighting. … That was within policy.”

Details of that arrest were not immediately available, though Albin said the Sheriff’s Office would provide them.

As national attention to the shooting has grown, Albin said the office has received death threats that have been called into dispatch. So far, officials have been unable to trace the calls, he said.

Albin said there is no “racial component” involved in the shooting of Harris, a black man who turned out to be unarmed, by a white officer. Fatal shootings by police of black men in South Carolina, Ferguson, Missouri, and elsewhere have focused nationwide attention on the issue of law enforcement and race relations.

Albin said the Sheriff’s Office asked Mike Huff, a retired veteran Tulsa police homicide sergeant, and the FBI to review its reports and investigation by a consultant, Jim Clark.

Clark is a sergeant on the Tulsa Police Department but was not representing the department in his review. Albin said Clark will be paid about $2,500 to $3,000 for his review of the shooting, which found that no crime occurred.

The Sheriff’s Office will also convene an internal shooting review board to determine whether any policies were violated, Albin said.

“This is uncharted water for us and so I wanted to make sure the investigators were on the right track.”