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Shocking new video shows shooting of unarmed black man that Tulsa reserve deputy claims to be an accident
Shocking new video shows shooting of unarmed black man that Tulsa reserve deputy claims to be an accident
Ryan GormanApr 12, 2015, 21:27 IST
New footage has emerged of a reserve deputy fatally shooting an unarmed suspect this week in Tulsa, Oklahoma.Ex-con Eric Harris, 44, was shot after police tackled him following a short foot pursuit following a gun-buying sting. The reserve officer who pulled the trigger claims he meant to shoot his stun gun.Robert Bates, 73, was the deputy authorities identified as having fired the fatal shot.He was often on patrol, even though he's not part of the force, due to his donations of equipment to the department. Perhaps even the cameras that captured the incident, according to the Tulsa World.Video just released by the Tulsa Police Department shows Harris screaming in agony after being shot. He complains he is unable to breathe."F**k your breath," shouts one of the officers pinning Harris to the pavement. The suspect later died at a nearby hospital.Harris is shown running from police during a gun-buying sting before being subdued by multiple officers.Please note, this video is very graphic.A gun shot seemingly comes out of nowhere and Harris screams in agony as a man, later identified as Bates, apologizes and puts his firearm on the pavement.Another officer takes the handgun while Harris screams out in agony. The arresting officers claim Harris said he ingested the drug PCP earlier in the day, according to the World.Fallout has grown in the days after the shooting as local media uncovered the circumstances under which Bates found himself shooting a pistol that he thought was a stun gun.Bates, a former cop who served one year on the force in the mid 1960s, has donated thousands of dollars in cars, guns and other equipment to Tulsa police, the World reported earlier this week. The department has a program that allows wealthy benefactors to ride along with active officers as deputies.According to a department spokesperson, Bates is one of many wealthy people in the 130-strong reserve deputy program."There are lots of wealthy people in the reserve program," Maj. Shannon Clark explained to the paper. "Many of them make donations of items. That's not unusual at all."The footage came from sunglass cameras similar to ones recently bought for officers by Bates, said Clark. She could not confirm if he donated those specific cameras.
