TULSA, Okla. (AP) – A grand jury will begin investigating allegations of wrongdoing against the Tulsa County sheriff’s office, which came under scrutiny after a reserve deputy shot and killed an unarmed and restrained suspect because he says he mistook his firearm for a stun gun.
Among the accusations that the grand jury is expected to consider after convening Monday is whether Sheriff Stanley Glanz gave special treatment to the reserve deputy, Robert Bates, who was a close friend of Glanz’s and had served as Glanz’ campaign manager in 2012.
Bates, a wealthy 73-year-old insurance executive who has since left the force, is charged with second-degree manslaughter in the April 2 killing of Eric Harris, who had run from deputies after allegedly being caught in an illegal gun-sale sting.
Harris’ death quickly led to scrutiny of the management of the sheriff’s office, and particularly the relationship between Glanz and Bates, who also has donated thousands of dollars in cash and equipment to the sheriff’s office.
A civil rights group, We The People Oklahoma, gathered the thousands of signatures required to empanel a grand jury after a after a 2009 memo was leaked that called into question whether Bates was qualified to do his job.