National

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

Published

10 years ago

April 21, 2015

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.

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Oakland Post: Week of October 30 – November 5, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of October 30 – November 5, 2024

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1 day ago

November 1, 2024

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New Filing: Trump’s Attempts to Overturn 2020 Election Were Part of Private Scheme, Not Official Acts

NNPA NEWSWIRE — The filing reveals the extent of Trump’s interactions with figures such as attorney Rudy Giuliani and other senior officials, some of whose names were withheld. Trump persisted with a plan to undercut Joe Biden’s victory despite numerous warnings from people in his circle that his claims of a stolen election were untrue.

Published

4 days ago

October 29, 2024

Oakland Post

Jack Smith during a statement regarding the indictment of Donald J. Trump. (Wikimedia Commons)

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia

Special Counsel Jack Smith has delivered a powerful legal blow to former President Donald Trump, unveiling new evidence that the twice-impeached Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election results were part of a private scheme rather than actions taken in his official capacity as president.

In a 165-page legal brief unsealed Wednesday, Smith provided new details about Trump’s behind-the-scenes maneuvers to subvert the election, including pressure campaigns targeting key officials, attempts to create false electors, and private discussions with his vice president, Mike Pence.

The filing reveals the extent of Trump’s interactions with figures such as attorney Rudy Giuliani and other senior officials, some of whose names were withheld. Trump persisted with a plan to undercut Joe Biden’s victory despite numerous warnings from people in his circle that his claims of a stolen election were untrue.

Smith’s brief is part of a broader strategy to prove that Trump can face trial for his actions, even after a Supreme Court ruling granted him immunity for official acts as president. The special counsel argues that Trump’s efforts to enlist Pence in blocking Congress’s certification of the election results were part of a private, illegal campaign to retain power, not part of his official duties.

“At its core, the defendant’s scheme was a private criminal effort,” Smith wrote in the filing. “In his capacity as a candidate, he used deceit to target every stage of the electoral process.”

The document provides new evidence of Trump’s attempts to sway election officials in critical swing states to alter the results in his favor. The brief quotes a lawyer advising Trump, who gave an “honest assessment” that his claims of widespread fraud would not withstand scrutiny in court. Yet, Trump dismissed the warning. “The details don’t matter,” Trump said, according to the filing.

Further, the brief recounts private conversations between Trump and Pence, in which Pence urged Trump to accept defeat and consider another run in 2024. Trump, however, expressed reluctance, saying, “2024 is so far off.”

Smith’s filing depicts Trump’s actions as part of a desperate and illegal campaign to remain in power after losing the 2020 election. The brief also points to Trump’s reliance on Giuliani and other private allies in his election subversion attempts, asserting that none of these efforts fell under the scope of presidential duties.

“The defendant asserts that he is immune from prosecution for his criminal scheme to overturn the 2020 presidential election because, he claims, it entailed official conduct,” the filing reads. “Not so. Although the defendant was the incumbent president during the charged conspiracies, his scheme was fundamentally a private one.”

A sealed appendix to the legal brief contains FBI interviews, search warrant affidavits, and grand jury testimony that might soon become public. Smith’s filing builds on the indictment released last year, expanding the evidence and reinforcing the argument that Trump’s conduct was criminal and not shielded by presidential immunity.

Smith concluded the brief with an explicit request to the court: “The government respectfully submits that the defendant’s conduct described in this motion is not subject to presidential immunity and that he should face trial for his private acts of subversion.”

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Special Interview: Rep. Barbara Lee Discusses Kamala Harris’ Plan for Black Men

On Oct. 16, California Black Media (CBM) spoke with Harris-Walz campaign surrogate, Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA-12), who shared more insights on Harris’ agenda and the importance of securing the Black Male vote. “She has said very clearly that she wants to earn the vote of everyone. And that means earning the vote of Black men,” said Lee of Harris. “She understands the systemic and historic challenges that Black men have. You haven’ t heard of a presidential candidate coming up with a concrete actual plan and policy agenda.” The agenda includes five focus areas based on insights she gleaned from hosting discussions with Black men during her Economic Opportunity Tour.

Published

5 days ago

October 28, 2024

Oakland Post

(File Photo) U.S. Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-13-Oakland) chides Justices on the Supreme Court of the United States for voting to strike down Affirmative Action. She is shown here speaking in front of the California Reparations Task Force in Oakland on May 6, 2023. CBM photo by Antonio Ray Harvey. By Edward Henderson, California Black Media

By Edward Henderson, California Black Media

Last week, the Kamala Harris campaign released its Opportunity Agenda for Black Men.

“She has said very clearly that she wants to earn the vote of everyone. And that means earning the vote of Black men,” said Lee of Harris. “She understands the systemic and historic challenges that Black men have. You haven’ t heard of a presidential candidate coming up with a concrete actual plan and policy agenda.”

The agenda includes five focus areas based on insights she gleaned from hosting discussions with Black men during her Economic Opportunity Tour:

Provide 1 million loans that are fully forgivable to Black entrepreneurs and others disadvantaged groups to start businesses.
Champion education, training, and mentorship programs that help Black men get good-paying jobs in high-demand industries It will also develop more accessible pathways for Black men to become teachers.
Support a regulatory framework for cryptocurrency and other digital assets so Black men who invest in and own these assets are protected.
Launch a National Health Equity Initiative focused on Black men that addresses sickle cell disease, diabetes, mental health, prostate cancer, and other health challenges that disproportionately impact them.
Legalize recreational marijuana and creating opportunities for Black Americans to succeed in this new industry.

“[Vice President Harris] knows that Black men have long felt that too often their voice in our political process has gone unheard and that there is so much untapped ambition and leadership within the Black male community,” the language in the agenda states. “Black men and boys deserve a president who will provide the opportunity to unleash this talent and potential by removing historic barriers to wealth creation, education, employment, earnings, health, and improving the criminal justice system.”

Diving into Harris’ agenda, Lee says, reminded her of her own record of supporting Black men over the years as an elected official. In the 90’s, she established the first California Commission on African American Males through which she pressured the state to address urgent economic, health and social challenges specific to Black men.

“No group of people are a monolithic group of people,” said Lee She’ s not taking any vote for granted. I’ve known her over three decades and I believe she is being herself. She’ s authentic,” Lee added.

Each of the 5 key points addressed in the Harris Campaign’s agenda, Lee says, has additional clauses that can potentially help Black men and their families thrive. This includes lowering rent; up to $25,000 in downpayment help for first time homebuyers; and cutting taxes for Black men in lower-wage jobs by increasing the Earned Income Tax Credit maximum to $1,500.

“I think the messages is one of empowerment for Black men — regardless of whether they’ re a blue-collar worker, if they’ re not working, if they’ re in business, if they’ re an entrepreneur, whatever background or whatever they’re doing or experiencing life. I think the authenticity of their experience can only be articulated through them,” said Lee.