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In his first interview since being sentenced in the April 2, 2015, death of Eric Harris, former Tulsa County reserve deputy Robert Bates maintained the shooting was an accident and said the incident has “pretty much ruined” his life.

Bates, 74, spoke to NBC News on June 6 while at the Tulsa Jail awaiting his transfer to Oklahoma Department of Corrections custody after being sentenced May 31 to four years in prison. He has since been assigned to serve his time for his second-degree manslaughter conviction at Joseph Harp Correctional Center, which has a unit for older offenders and those with long-term medical needs, in Lexington.