Volunteer Oklahoma deputy pleads not guilty, heads to Bahamas

John Bacon | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption See what happened before deputy fired gun instead of Taser Authorities say Eric Harris was trying to sell an undercover officer a gun when more officers arrived and he fled. Police cameras captured the exchange, chase and deadly shooting by reserve deputy Robert Bates, who says he meant to fire his stun gun.

A volunteer Oklahoma deputy charged in the shooting death of an unarmed black man pleaded not guilty Tuesday to second-degree manslaughter and won approval for a controversial family vacation.

A Tulsa judge ordered Reserve Deputy Robert Bates, 73, to return to court July 2 — but approved his request to first vacation in the Bahamas.

The vacation drew an angry response from the family of Eric Harris, who was fatally shot by Bates on April 2.

"Whether intended or not, Mr. Bates' vacationing in the Bahamas at this time sends a message of apathy with respect to the shooting and Eric's life," the Harris family said in a statement released by lawyer Dan Smolen. "At a time when we are still mourning the death of a loved one that he shot down in the street, Mr. Bates will be relaxing and enjoying his wealth and privilege."

Harris, 44, had run from deputies conducting a gun-buy sting operation when he was wrestled to the ground. Bates, a retired insurance executive, had been at the scene serving as a backup.

Bates went to provide assistance. He said he meant to stun Harris with a Taser. Instead, Bates said, he accidentally drew and fired his .357 Magnum revolver. Immediately after firing his weapon, Bates is heard on a video of the tragedy saying, "I shot him. I'm sorry."

Harris, 44, died a short time later. Bates is free on $25,000 bail.

The judge's approval of Bates' out-of-country vacation drew surprised reaction from some legal observers.

"This is far from routine — it's extraordinary,'' said Manny Medrano, former federal prosecutor and criminal defense attorney in Los Angeles.

"I'm astounded the judge would allow it,'' he said. "You really have to question whether the officer is receiving unique and special treatment.''

Royal Oakes, a Los Angeles lawyer and legal analyst, said the move is unusual and invites criticism.

"There's no hard and fast rule against letting a defendant leave the country. Judges are entitled to consider a laundry list of factors in deciding whether to permit overseas travel, including flight risk, ties to the community and the nature of the crime,'' Oakes said. "But here, in a manslaughter case where Bates is accused of buying his way into a position for which he was unsuited, the court is inviting major-league second-guessing of the order.''

The plea came one day after Sheriff Stanley Glanz said the FBI reviewed the shooting and determined the sheriff's department did nothing wrong. Glanz said the FBI determined Harris' civil rights were not violated.

Bates is a longtime friend of Glanz who ran the sheriff's 2012 re-election campaign. Bates has donated vehicles and other equipment to the department.

Also Monday, lawyers for the Harris family said Bates was not certified on the gun he fired, and the personal weapon was not on the Tulsa sheriff's list of approved firearms.

Smolen said the records, supplied by the sheriff's office, document only 24 hours of firearms training, none on a .357 Magnum. The training covered an AR-15 rifle, a SIG Sauer pistol and a Glock .45-caliber pistol.

For a person to become an advanced reserve deputy, Oklahoma requires 276 hours of state law enforcement courses and 480 of supervised field training.

Among the new batch of records is a handwritten note from March 2009 on Bates' corporate stationery declaring he completed 507 hours of training. Bates has said he became an advanced deputy in 2007.

The police department and a lawyer for Bates released copies of various records. The sheriff's office has refused media requests to release all of Bates' records.

Glanz said that if any are missing it's because Oklahoma law allows their destruction after seven years. He said there is no evidence any training records for Bates were falsified, a contention raised by lawyers for the Harris family.

"Mr. Bates has been to the range several times and is qualified. That's documented," Glanz said.

Contributing: Michael Winter; William M. Welch