Tulsa reserve deputy's records not falsified, sheriff says
TULSA, Okla. -- The Tulsa County sheriff says he doesn't believe training records were falsified in connection to a volunteer deputy who fatally shot a man after mistaking his handgun for a stun gun.
Sheriff Stanley Glanz said Monday he's known the volunteer, insurance executive Robert Bates, for about 25 years. He said that at one time, the two had traveled to the Bahamas together with other colleagues.
Bates is charged with second-degree manslaughter in the death of Eric Harris, who was shot after running from officers during a sting investigation.
Glanz apologized to the Harris family for the loss of their loved one.
Harris' family questions whether Bates was adequately trained. The Tulsa World newspaper, citing unnamed sources, has reported some of Bates' supervisors were told to certify him after he failed to meet some qualifications.
Sources close to the sheriff's office told CBS News last week that at least three officers were pressured by their supervisor to change Bates' records to show he received training he had never taken -- and that two were transferred to less desirable positions when they refused.
Glanz also says action will be taken against two deputies at the scene, including one who cursed at Harris as he lay dying. Glanz wasn't specific.
Glanz said Monday that he had no intention to resign and has received lots of supportive messages and phone calls from the community.
"They don't question my integrity and they're not sure why everyone else is," he said.
Defense attorneys released some of Bates' training records Saturday. The records include certificates showing what training he received, job evaluation reports and weapons training and qualification records dating to 2008.
Bates' attorneys said the 64 pages of records released to The Associated Press and other news organizations include records Bates copied and kept for himself. Although there are time gaps in the documents provided, some of the records seem to indicate Bates was proficient in firearms and dozens of other training courses.
"For the first time today, we feel like someone's starting to look at the other side of this as far as his qualifications," Scott Wood, an attorney for Bates, said after the documents were released.
Bates told NBC's "Today" show on Friday that he was certified for his position and had the documentation to prove it.
Harris' family attorney - who had questioned Bates' qualifications as a reserve deputy - did not return a message seeking comment Saturday. A call to the district attorney's office rang unanswered, and the sheriff's office referred questions to Wood.
"I want to do everything I can to make sure that people know that this allegation of falsified records is not true," Wood said.