A 73-year-old reserve deputy in Tulsa, Oklahoma is under an ongoing investigation after he shot dead a suspect earlier this month when he mistook his handgun for a Taser, officials say.
However, the incident is gradually gaining national attention, hence sparking controversies, because the other deputies can be heard on the video berating the suspect, Eric Courtney Harris, 44, after he had been shot by Robert Bates-a Tulsa County Reserve Deputy.
The shooting incident happened on April 2 in Tulsa during an undercover sting operation. Harris, an accused felon, had sold methamphetamine to an undercover officer few days earlier, CNN reported. During the operation, he tried to sell an illegal handgun to an undercover officer in a vehicle.
Harris jumped out of the car and ran as the police pulled up on the scene. An officer was able to catch up to Harris and Bates arrived moments later. The officers were trying to restrain Harris, while Bates could be heard yelling "Taser" before a shot rings out. Bates then immediately apologizes for the purported mistake.
Bates can be heard saying on video: "Oh! I shot him! I'm sorry!"
"Oh, God. Oh, he shot me," Harris yelled on the other hand.
Harris then complains that he is already losing breath, at which point a deputy can be heard saying "F--- your breath."
Harris was taken to the hospital, however, he died about an hour after the shooting occurred, according to Los Angeles Times.
Tulsa Police Sgt. Jim Clark was assigned to review the case. According to him, Bates "inadvertently" shot Harris and described the officer's actions as "slip and capture." He explained, "These are mistakes that are made when you think you are doing one thing but you actually are doing another, and the result often is directly opposite of what you intended. In effect, your intended behavior slips off the path that you want it to go because it is captured by a stronger response and sent to a different direction."
Clark also was in defense for the deputy who was heard berating Harris, saying that it is likely that he did not hear the gunshot because he was so focused on restraining Harris. He mentioned that the deputy thought Harris was out of breath due to running.