Discussion for article #235667
“TULSA, Okla. (AP) — Several members of an Oklahoma sheriff’s department
raised serious concerns years ago about the performance and training of a
volunteer deputy now charged in the fatal shooting of a restrained
suspect, according to a report released by lawyers for the dead man’s
family.”
Sounds like there are a few sensible cops in Tulsa.
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“It concludes that Bates didn’t receive special treatment by being admitted to the program because no advanced deputy had fully met internal standards.”
What could possibly go wrong?
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Bates is a longtime friend to Sheriff Stanley Glanz, serving as his insurance agent for 25 years and his re-election campaign manager in 2012.
“I feel like it’s time the good-old-boy club is broken up in Tulsa,” said resident Pamela Smith.
No fucking shit.
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They may not be able to convict Bates, but it’s sounding more and more like Harris’ family is going to be able to pursue a very strong wrongful death civil suit against Bates, Glanz, and the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office. “The plaintiff calls Sgt. Randy Chapman, your honor.”
And since Bates was an insurance agent, I hope he’s got one whopping umbrella liability policy.
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In Tulsa good ole boy voyeurs get their kicks out of ridin wit da cops and busting black guys…and in this case murdering one. It’s disgraceful that this is not hard to believe given our racial history.
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You’d think the Sheriff would be sensitive to the vast opportunities for something to go wrong, with an OLD MAN playing at cops & robbers. Obviously, Bates bought his way to his status, and that alone should have set off the sheriff’s radar. Just as obviously, Bates is damned lucky he isn’t charged with someone a lot more serious that low-end manslaughter. And just as obviously, if the Tulsa voters have any brains, their current sheriff will be looking for a job soon. If he makes decisions based on cronyism, that sort of decision-maker isn’t good for ordinary Tulsans!
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Pretty sure the plaintiff’s people will also be looking not just at Bates but at whatever liability insurance the sheriff’s office and the county government has. Lots of entities tangled up in the situation and some deep pockets. I’m sure there are some lawyers tearing their hair out over this.
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“…demonstrates this office’s willingness to investigate and review any allegations of policy violations.”
Translation: I’ll give you an “A” for this report, but it doesn’t count at all to your final grade. An exercise in futility.
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And based on that alone, there is NO way this guy is going to get convicted of anything,
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Surely there are dozens of ways for septuagenarians to volunteer without involving their interaction with deadly weapons. If these departments are so underfunded that they cannot hire people better qualified for the rigors of police work, they should consider rising taxes that may play a role in better protecting the people they are ostensibly hired to serve,
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Barney Fife with money
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Some of the real cops, thought the sherifs pal cop was inept, and it’s in writing.
That’s going to leave a mark!
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Probably the real cops that were doing serious police work didn’t need this guy running into dangerous situations and making everything worse.
Guys like him should be doing to the easy/busy stuff. Call backs on robberies, etc.
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Drip…drip…drip…
Even if there are no additional charges brought, his life is going to be a living hell - probably for the remainder of his life.
I’m OK with that, if that’s all that is possible. Sad, but that may have to be enough.
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Chapman, who declined to comment Friday to AP, said in the report that he had complained that Bates shouldn't be allowed to rely on a year's worth of service with the Tulsa Police Department in the mid-1960s to qualify as a present-day law enforcement officer.File this under “No sh&t, Sherlock”.
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The NRA and other supporters of “Constitutional Carry” laws promote the idea that a person in a conflict will somehow just know how and when to properly use their weapon. This case shows that’s complete BS, and the fact that it’s not being brought up shows the degree to which the NRA has struck fear and muzzled politicians on the other side.
I recognize there are detailed circumstances to consider in this case, but the general point still holds.
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He was always confusing thank-you notes with new cars…
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Huh. So the thing where we were supposed to be concerned about the sourcing of the reporters who originally broke this story because they changed jobs wasn’t really a thing to be concerned about after all. It’s almost as if their old employer was pissed and just trying to blacken their names a little bit rather than there being any actual reason for concern.
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Hopefully most all other police dept’s will take advice from this story and if they have aging civilian guys who wanna play cop that they give them a uniform and a desk. I look at myself (upper 60’s) and any younger actual policeman would be well advised to leave me behind at the station house.
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