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Sheriff, Lawyer Dispute Whether 73-Year-Old Deputy Qualified

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Sheriff Stanley Glanz speaks during a news conference about the reserve deputy Robert Bates' shooting of Eric Harris on Monday, April 20, 2015.  Glanz said he doesn't believe training records were falsified for a volunteer deputy who said he confused his handgun for his stun gun before fatally shooting Harris this month. (Mike Simons/Tulsa World via AP)

Sheriff Stanley Glanz speaks during a news conference about the reserve deputy Robert Bates’ shooting of Eric Harris on Monday, April 20, 2015. Glanz said he doesn’t believe training records were falsified for a volunteer deputy who said he confused his handgun for his stun gun before fatally shooting Harris this month. (Mike Simons/Tulsa World via AP)

KELLY P. KISSEL, Associated Press
SEAN MURPHY, Associated Press

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Tulsa County volunteer deputy who shot and killed a suspect after mistaking his handgun for a stun gun was using an unauthorized weapon when he fired the fatal shot, lawyers for the dead man’s family said Monday.

In separate news conferences, the county sheriff and lawyers for the man killed by 73-year-old Robert Bates disagreed on whether the reserve officer should have been on the streets with a badge and a gun.

Sheriff Stanley Glanz said Bates, his longtime insurance agent, had been properly trained and passed annual firearms certifications required by the state.

Dan Smolen, a lawyer for Harris’ family, said the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office violated a number of its internal policies by letting Bates carry his personal handgun after training at the range on another weapon. Smolen also said the department failed to keep a permanent record of Bates’ training, a violation of local policies.

Records Bates released during the weekend showed that the volunteer officer was trained on a .45, not the weapon used in Harris’ death.

“None of those that are approved by the sheriff’s office own policies include a .357 Smith and Wesson,” Smolen said, while reviewing department records for reporters.

“Firearms training is a critical piece of this story. None of the records produced by the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office or Mr. Bates’ attorney, whoever produced them, indicate that he was ever certified with a .357 revolver,” Smolen said.

Harris died after running from a sting operation involving illegal gun sales. Bates, who has been charged with second-degree manslaughter, has said that he confused his handgun with his stun gun following a short chase.

The sheriff said it was proper to have Bates on the scene with eight other officers during an investigation into illegal gun sales.

“Mr. Bates has been to the range several times and is qualified, and that is documented,” the sheriff said.

Smolen reviewed documents Bates released showing passing scores at the shooting range, though some efforts were marked below the 72 percent passing grade.

Using a slideshow, he said Tulsa sheriff’s department policies require that guns used on-duty be the same as those used at the range, unless an officer is off-duty before being called to respond.

State law enforcement training standards do not require that the weapons be the same, but do allow counties and local police to set their own guidelines.

Under those same state standards, once people are certified as law officers they remain authorized to work as long as they maintain weapons skills and aren’t de-certified for reasons as varied as being convicted of major crimes or involuntarily committed to a mental health facility.

“Whether they are hired by a particular department or meet that department’s requirements … that is up to the individual department, not CLEET,” said James Wilson, the general counsel for the Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training. “If the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office wants to commission them, that’s their business, as long as they’re certified.”

Bates, who sold his insurance business for $6 million in 1999, was trained to be a Tulsa Police Department patrolman in 1964 but left in 1965. He was out of law enforcement for 35 years, returning for volunteer work in Florida in 2000-01 — doing ride-alongs — before joining the Tulsa County force in 2008 and making a number of donations to the agency. He also was Glanz’ campaign manager during the 2012 election.

There was no record of why Bates left the Tulsa Police Department. The agency said it destroys old personnel files after five years.

Glanz’ office has said it, too, cannot find all of Bates’ records. Monday, Glanz said some of those records could have been destroyed under a new state law that allows agencies to throw away old records after seven years.

“I don’t doubt for a second that they can’t find these records,” said Sen. Brian Crain, a Republican from Tulsa who sponsored the bill. “It’s a bureaucracy, and with any bureaucracy you’re going to lose track of some records.” He said he couldn’t recall if it was Glanz or the state Sheriffs Association that asked for the bill.

Glanz, the local sheriff since 1989, was on the Commission of Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies from 2000 to 2005 and said he believed that age standards may be considered in response to Harris’ death.

“We follow the national standards. I think that we will be reviewing the national standards for our reserves and age may be an element of that,” Glanz said.

But Craig Hartley, CALEA’s executive director, said Monday no one has asked for a review, and any mandatory retirement age might not survive a federal court challenge under equal employment laws.

Glanz also said Monday that action will be taken against two deputies at the scene, including one caught on video cursing at Harris as he lay dying. The sheriff said both have received threats and have been reassigned.

“We will review what those officers did and will take some administrative action,” the sheriff said, but didn’t provide specifics.

The FBI said Monday it had concluded that a civil rights investigation into Harris’ death was not warranted “at this time.”

The Tulsa World newspaper, citing unidentified sources, has reported that some of Bates’ supervisors were told to certify him after he failed to meet some qualifications. Bates released his records Saturday in an effort to refute that claim.

The reporter and editor on the Tulsa World story have resigned “to pursue other opportunities,” the newspaper said on its website. Another reporter also leaving the paper said the departure had been in the works for weeks, even before Bates shot Harris.

“We always intended to give notice this week,” said former World reporter Cary Aspinwall, who is married to an AP reporter. “This all happened before he shot the guy.”

___

Kissel reported from Little Rock, Arkansas. Associated Press writers Justin Juozapavicius in Tulsa and Allen Reed in Little Rock contributed to this report.

Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Arts and Culture

In ‘Affrilachia: Testimonies,’ Puts Blacks in Appalacia on the Map

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Author Chris Aluka. Photo courtesy of Chris Aluka.
Author Chris Aluka. Photo courtesy of Chris Aluka.

By Terri Schlichenmeyer
The Bookworm Sez

An average oak tree is bigger around than two people together can reach.

That mighty tree starts out with an acorn the size of a nickel, ultimately growing to some 80 feet tall, with a canopy of a hundred feet or more across.

And like the new book, “Affrilachia” by Chris Aluka Berry (with Kelly Elaine Navies and Maia A. Surdam), its roots spread wide and wider.

Affriclachia is a term a Kentucky poet coined in the 1990s referring to the Black communities in Appalachia who are similarly referred to as Affrilachians.

In 2016, “on a foggy Sunday morning in March,” Berry visited Affrilachia for the first time by going the Mount Zion AME Zion Church in Cullowhee, North Carolina. The congregation was tiny; just a handful of people were there that day, but a pair of siblings stood out to him.

According to Berry, Ann Rogers and Mae Louise Allen lived on opposite sides of town, and neither had a driver’s license. He surmised that church was the only time the elderly sisters were together then, but their devotion to one another was clear.

As the service ended, he asked Allen if he could visit her. Was she willing to talk about her life in the Appalachians, her parents, her town?

She was, and arrangements were made, but before Barry could get back to Cullowhee, he learned that Allen had died. Saddened, he wondered how many stories are lost each day in mountain communities where African Americans have lived for more than a century.

“I couldn’t make photographs of the past,” he says, “but I could document the people and places living now.”

In doing so he also offers photographs that he collected from people he met in ‘Affrilachia,’ in North Carolina, Georgia, Kentucky, and Tennessee, at a rustic “camp” that was likely created by enslaved people, at churches, and in modest houses along highways.

The people he interviewed recalled family tales and community stories of support, hardship, and home.

Says coauthor Navies, “These images shout without making a sound.”

If it’s true what they say about a picture being worth 1,000 words, then “Affrilachia,” as packed with photos as it is, is worth a million.

With that in mind, there’s not a lot of narrative inside this book, just a few poems, a small number of very brief interviews, a handful of memories passed down, and some background stories from author Berry and his co-authors. The tales are interesting but scant.

For most readers, though, that lack of narrative isn’t going to matter much. The photographs are the reason why you’d have this book.

Here are pictures of life as it was 50 years or a century ago: group photos, pictures taken of proud moments, worn pews, and happy children. Some of the modern pictures may make you wonder why they’re included, but they set a tone and tell a tale.

This is the kind of book you’ll take off the shelf, and notice something different every time you do. “Affrilachia” doesn’t contain a lot of words, but it’s a good choice when it’s time to branch out in your reading.

“Affrilachia: Testimonies,” by Chris Aluka Berry with Kelly Elaine Navies and Maia A. Surdam

c.2024, University of Kentucky Press, $50.00.

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Black History

Alice Parker: The Innovator Behind the Modern Gas Furnace

Born in Morristown, New Jersey, in 1895, Alice Parker lived during a time when women, especially African American women, faced significant social and systemic barriers. Despite these challenges, her contributions to home heating technology have had a lasting impact.

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In 1919, Alice Parker patented the design for a gas-powered central heating system, a groundbreaking invention. Image courtesy of U.S. Patent Office.
In 1919, Alice Parker patented the design for a gas-powered central heating system, a groundbreaking invention. Image courtesy of U.S. Patent Office.

By Tamara Shiloh

Alice Parker was a trailblazing African American inventor whose innovative ideas forever changed how we heat our homes.

Born in Morristown, New Jersey, in 1895, Parker lived during a time when women, especially African American women, faced significant social and systemic barriers. Despite these challenges, her contributions to home heating technology have had a lasting impact.

Parker grew up in New Jersey, where winters could be brutally cold. Although little is documented about her personal life, her education played a crucial role in shaping her inventive spirit. She attended Howard University, a historically Black university in Washington, D.C., where she may have developed her interest in practical solutions to everyday challenges.

Before Parker’s invention, most homes were heated using wood or coal-burning stoves. These methods were labor-intensive, inefficient, and posed fire hazards. Furthermore, they failed to provide even heating throughout a home, leaving many rooms cold while others were uncomfortably warm.

Parker recognized the inefficiency of these heating methods and imagined a solution that would make homes more comfortable and energy-efficient during winter.

In 1919, she patented her design for a gas-powered central heating system, a groundbreaking invention. Her design used natural gas as a fuel source to distribute heat throughout a building, replacing the need for wood or coal. The system allowed for thermostatic control, enabling homeowners to regulate the temperature in their homes efficiently.

What made her invention particularly innovative was its use of ductwork, which channeled warm air to different parts of the house. This concept is a precursor to the modern central heating systems we use today.

While Parker’s design was never fully developed or mass-produced during her lifetime, her idea laid the groundwork for modern central heating systems. Her invention was ahead of its time and highlighted the potential of natural gas as a cleaner, more efficient alternative to traditional heating methods.

Parker’s patent is remarkable not only for its technical innovation but also because it was granted at a time when African Americans and women faced severe limitations in accessing patent protections and recognition for their work. Her success as an inventor during this period is a testament to her ingenuity and determination.

Parker’s legacy lives on in numerous awards and grants – most noticeably in the annual Alice H. Parker Women Leaders in Innovation Award. That distinction is given out by the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce to celebrate outstanding women innovators in Parker’s home state.

The details of Parker’s later years are as sketchy as the ones about her early life. The specific date of her death, along with the cause, are also largely unknown.

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Activism

U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries Speaks on Democracy at Commonwealth Club

Based on his first speech as House minority leader, “The ABCs of Democracy” by Grand Central Publishing is an illustrated children’s book for people of all ages. Each letter contrasts what democracy is and isn’t, as in: “American Values over Autocracy”, “Benevolence over Bigotry” and “The Constitution over the Cult.”

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: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries at the Commonwealth Club World Affairs Council on Dec. 2. Photo by Johnnie Burrell. Book cover: "The ABCs of Democracy" by Hakeem Jeffries.
: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries at the Commonwealth Club World Affairs Council on Dec. 2. Photo by Johnnie Burrell. Book cover: "The ABCs of Democracy" by Hakeem Jeffries.

By Linda Parker Pennington
Special to The Post

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries addressed an enthusiastic overflow audience on Monday at San Francisco’s Commonwealth Club, launching his first book, “The ABCs of Democracy.”

Based on his first speech as House minority leader, “The ABCs of Democracy” by Grand Central Publishing is an illustrated children’s book for people of all ages.

Each letter contrasts what democracy is and isn’t, as in: “American Values over Autocracy”, “Benevolence over Bigotry” and “The Constitution over the Cult.”

Less than a month after the election that will return Donald Trump to the White House, Rep. Jeffries also gave a sobering assessment of what the Democrats learned.

“Our message just wasn’t connecting with the real struggles of the American people,” Jeffries said. “The party in power is the one that will always pay the price.”

On dealing with Trump, Jeffries warned, “We can’t fall into the trap of being outraged every day at what Trump does. That’s just part of his strategy. Remaining calm in the face of turmoil is a choice.”

He pointed out that the razor-thin margin that Republicans now hold in the House is the lowest since the Civil War.

Asked what the public can do, Jeffries spoke about the importance of being “appropriately engaged. Democracy is not on autopilot. It takes a citizenry to hold politicians accountable and a new generation of young people to come forward and serve in public office.”

With a Republican-led White House, Senate, House and Supreme Court, Democrats must “work to find bi-partisan common ground and push back against far-right extremism.”

He also described how he is shaping his own leadership style while his mentor, Speaker-Emeritus Nancy Pelosi, continues to represent San Francisco in Congress. “She says she is not hanging around to be like the mother-in-law in the kitchen, saying ‘my son likes his spaghetti sauce this way, not that way.’”

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