Reserve deputy, 73-year-old Robert Charles Bates, was placed in a situation to which he should have never been exposed. He had retired from a private practice which had nothing to do with law enforcement. To my knowledge, police officers are required to retire at 65 or younger, Mr. Bates was eight years older than that. Even for trained professionals, it is easy to make a mistake and grab the wrong “pistol grip” in the heat of the moment. This incident is tragic not only for the victim, but for the shooter who, according to reports, was so shocked he had discharged his weapon, he dropped it to the ground. He appears to be a good man who, in a stressful situation, performed an act he will live with the rest of his life.I submit the entity most at fault in this incident is the Tulsa Police Department that put Mr. Bates in this situation.The deceased, Mr. Harris, an ex convict who may or may not be guilty of the crimes for which he was being arrested contributed to his death by resisting arrest, but that in itself is not a capital crime. I do not feel it is wrong to assume that Mr. Bates grieves for Mr. Harris and wishes he had not been the instrument of the latter’s death.I grieve for them both and wonder how the Tulsa Police Department will respond to the mistake that brought these two men into each other’s lives, and death.Respectfully,C.
Reserve deputy, 73-year-old Robert Charles Bates, was placed in a situation to which he should have never been exposed. He had retired from a private practice which had nothing to do with law enforcement. To my knowledge, police officers are required to retire at 65 or younger, Mr. Bates was eight years older than that. Even for trained professionals, it is easy to make a mistake and grab the wrong “pistol grip” in the heat of the moment. This incident is tragic not only for the victim, but for the shooter who, according to reports, was so shocked he had discharged his weapon, he dropped it to the ground. He appears to be a good man who, in a stressful situation, performed an act he will live with the rest of his life.I submit the entity most at fault in this incident is the Tulsa Police Department that put Mr. Bates in this situation.The deceased, Mr. Harris, an ex convict who may or may not be guilty of the crimes for which he was being arrested contributed to his death by resisting arrest, but that in itself is not a capital crime. I do not feel it is wrong to assume that Mr. Bates grieves for Mr. Harris and wishes he had not been the instrument of the latter’s death.I grieve for them both and wonder how the Tulsa Police Department will respond to the mistake that brought these two men into each other’s lives, and death.Respectfully,C.