Former Oklahoma Reserve Deputy Sentenced To Four Years For Manslaughter

TULSA, Okla. (Reuters) – A former Oklahoma reserve deputy convicted in the fatal shooting of an unarmed man being subdued by regular deputies last year was sentenced on Tuesday to four years in prison for second-degree manslaughter.

Robert Bates, an insurance executive who volunteered as a reserve sheriff’s deputy in Tulsa County, was found guilty in April of the charge stemming from the 2015 death of Eric Harris. Bates, 74, will receive credit for time already served, District Judge William Musseman said. He has been held at the Tulsa County jail since his conviction.

Lawyers for Bates said he thought he had a Taser rather than a gun in his hand when he fired at Harris, 44. But prosecutors…READ MORE