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Los Angeles — A white septuagenarian police reservist who shot dead an unarmed black suspect has been cleared of wrongdoing by his force in the latest fatal shooting to shock America.

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tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or ‘Pay to play cop’ who shot black suspect a millionaire, 73, allowed to join patrols because he donated to Tulsa police Back to video

Bob Bates, 73, a millionaire insurance executive, was accused by the victim’s family of being a “pay to play cop” who was allowed to go along on police operations after he donated equipment, including cars and guns, to the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Department in Oklahoma.

Bates had also been the chairman of the election campaign of Stanley Glanz, the Tulsa county sheriff, in 2012. He became involved in a chase for Eric Harris, 44, a suspected drug dealer and weapons supplier, on a suburban street near a Tulsa supermarket on April 2.

By the time he caught up, Harris was already subdued on the ground by other officers but Bates fired a single shot.

In a video of the incident, recorded on a camera attached to another officer’s sunglasses, Bates could then be heard saying: “Oh, I shot him. I’m sorry.”

The millionaire later said he meant to use his Taser, not his.38-calibre pistol. Police have classed the shooting as “excusable homicide” and said Bates “did not commit a crime”.