Reserve deputy Robert Bates
The
Tulsa World reports today that sources claim supervisors were ordered to falsify field training records and firearms certifications for Robert Bates, the reserve deputy sheriff who fatally shot Eric Harris instead of tasering him.
At least three of reserve deputy Robert Bates’ supervisors were transferred after refusing to sign off on his state-required training, multiple sources speaking on condition of anonymity told the World.
Eventually another supervisor purportedly signed off on the training records and certifications but has since left the Tulsa Sheriff's Office and the relevant documents cannot be found. Sheriff Stanley Glanz said:
“We can’t find the records that she supposedly turned in,” Glanz said. “So we are going to talk to her to find out if for sure he’s been qualified with those (weapons).”
The article makes some disturbing links between high-value donors to the sheriff's reserve deputy program and lax standards for training. It almost sounds like a paintball club, where those who can pay get to play adventure games, but with deadly consequences in this instance.
...Bates said he contacted a task force member on April 1 to ask if there was a “pending operation” he could assist with.
Bates was the campaign manager for Sheriff Glanz's reelection in 2012 and has donated 5 cars to the Sheriff's Office.
7:14 AM PT: Jen Hayden also covered this in her diary written about the same time I was composing mine. Take a look at her fine writeup: http://www.dailykos.com/...