Those of us who are Black in this country are under the misconception that our biggest threats are high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, and prostate cancer. But I have come to the conclusion that we've got it all wrong. The biggest threat to Black people in America is law enforcement! We can control the aforementioned health threats by simply adopting healthy habits. But we cannot control law enforment officers. All that we can do is pray before we leave the house, and believe that we won't be the next victim or headline.
In Oklahoma an elderly Deputy shot and killed an unarmed man when he mistakenly grabbed his gun while reaching for his taser! On April 2, Eric Harris, 44, was shot and killed by 73 year old Robert Bates, a Reserve Deputy who can be held yelling "taser, taser" before firing the fatal shot during the chase.The footage was caught on body camera, which is one of the most useful tools in law enforcement because it allows rogue officers to incriminate themselves. Several officers at the scene attempted to subdue Harris by pulling his arms behind his back with on pressing his knee on Harris head. This is text of the auto captured from that footage:
“He shot me! He shot me, man. Oh, my God. I'm losing my breath,”
Harris says as he squirms on the ground.
“I shot him! I'm sorry!”
one of the officers, presumably Bates, can be heard saying on the video.
“F--k your breath,” another officer says. “Shut the f--k up!”
Harris died an hour later at a local hospital and Prosecuters in Tulsa are "reviewing" the case. Astonishingly enough the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office noted that Bates committed an error, but added that he “did not commit a crime.”
According to several news reports, Harris was being chased after he tried to sell a 9mm semiautomatic pistol to an undercover officer. Bates was not originally assigned to the sting operation but was “thrust into the situation.” But the question is, Should safeguards have been put in place to prevent a 73 year old reserve deputy from being "thrust into this situation?"
“The case has been turned over to the Tulsa County district attorney and autopsy results are pending,” Tulsa County Sheriff’s Maj. Shannon Clark said at a news conference.
As of this writing Bates is now facing a manslaughter charge, and according to the attorney for the Harris family, Bates paid big money to play a cop in his spare time, but he didn't have the training to handle the job. It's a claim that Bates' attorney and the Sheriff's Office deny, arguing that he was experienced and qualified for the role. His donations of equipment to the Tulsa County Sheriff's Office and his friendship with Sheriff Stanley Glanz, they say, have nothing to do with the April 2 shooting.
PR
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