TCSO Reserve Deputy's Records False, Affidavit Claims

A former Tulsa County Sheriff's deputy claims there was a conspiracy to falsify Reserve Deputy Bob Bates' training records.

Thursday, April 16th 2015, 11:54 pm

By: News On 6

TCSO Reserve Deputy's Records False, Affidavit Claims

A former Tulsa County Sheriff's deputy claims there was a conspiracy to falsify Reserve Deputy Bob Bates' training records.

Bates is the man who said he accidentally shot and killed Eric Harris during an undercover operation earlier this month. Bates is now charged with second-degree manslaughter.

An affidavit says some of the top people in the sheriff's office ordered deputies to sign off on faked training. It also says the deputies refused and were punished because of it.

Bates' attorney Clark Brewster said the affidavit isn't credible because the person who signed it is in jail.

Bates has hundreds of hours of training, so many hours he served as an advanced reserve deputy - able to aid the violent crimes and narcotics task force on big arrests like the one April 2nd.

Deputies were doing an illegal gun sting when the suspect, Harris, ran.

Bates said he thought he was grabbing his Taser, but instead, fired his gun, killing Harris.

"Oh, I shot him. I'm sorry," you can hear Bates say in video released by the sheriff's office.

Now, an affidavit claims members of the sheriff's office were asked to sign off on training Bates didn't do, stating, "There was a conspiracy between Sheriff Glanz, Captain [Huckeby] and others...to sign off on official field training that we knew had never taken place."

The affidavit states when those members refused they were punished and "transferred to less desirable positions."

Brewster said the affidavit is not credible.

"I did a little investigation and found out it was notarized at a jail in Mayes County and it's likely to have been signed by a guy that's been charged with murder," he said.

Major Shannon Clark with the sheriff's office also said the affidavit is made up.

There's also another issue being raised about Bates' training. Reports question whether he was trained to use the .357 revolver used in the shooting.

Sheriff Glanz responded to that claim on a local radio show, saying, “He's certified with his own firearm and he's certified with the standard issue firearm, but the problem that we have, that we're trying to verify, is he qualified, we can't find the records."

There are several calls for investigations of the Tulsa County Sheriff's office and the Oklahoma chapter of the ACLU wants Glanz to resign.

The sheriff's office has also asked the FBI to do an internal review of the department's reserve deputy program.

More stories on the Eric Harris shooting:

4/2/2015 Related Story: Man Dies After Tulsa County Deputy-Involved Shooting