High-ranking members of the Tulsa County, Okla., Sheriff’s Department created a culture of intimidation that allowed the wealthy reserve deputy involved in a controversial police shooting earlier this month to advance through the ranks without proper training, according to an internal report made public Friday.
The nearly 300-page document, released by the attorneys representing the family of the man shot and killed by Reserve Deputy Robert Bates, contains interviews with several sheriff’s officers who said they were repeatedly threatened by Sheriff’s Department Chief Tim Albin and Capt. Tom Huckeby for criticizing Bates.
The report was compiled in 2009.
Bates, 73, shot and killed 44-year-old Eric Harris during an undercover sting on April 2. Bates said he was reaching for his stun gun and mistakenly pulled his revolver when he shot Harris, who was unarmed and struggling with another officer on the ground. Bates has been charged with manslaughter and faces up to four years in prison.
Many have criticized Tulsa County Sheriff Stanley Glanz’s ties to Bates, a wealthy insurance executive who has made frequent donations to Glanz’s re-election campaigns. Calls and emails to an attorney for Bates were not returned.
The internal report cites several examples of Bates conducting police actions, including traffic stops, for which he had not been trained. At one point, the sergeant in charge of the reserve deputy program told Bates he needed to complete additional training before he could work in the field on his own.
“Well I can do it and if you don’t like it you can talk to Tim Albin or Sheriff Glanz because I’m going to do it,” Bates replied, according to the report.
Another officer told an internal affairs investigator that he was ordered to sign memos, which he did not write, showing Bates had successfully completed certain training programs.
At one point in the interview, the investigator asked Cpl. Warren Crittendon if he believed Bates was “capable of functioning in the field.”
“Nope,” Crittendon replied, according to the report.
Dan Smolen, an attorney for Harris’ family, said Friday that Harris would be alive today if the sheriff’s department had forced Bates to adhere to its training policies.
“If it had been handled in 2009 or in 2010, ’11, ’12, ’13, ’14 and ’15,” Smolen said. “If they had just acted on their own policies and procedures, it could have been prevented.”
In a brief statement released Friday, District Attorney Stephen A. Kunzweiler said his office was widening its investigation into Harris’ shooting.
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