Editor’s note: The Frontier is looking back at some of its most memorable stories of the past decade as it counts down to its 10th anniversary celebration 6 p.m. April 29 at the Tulsa Central Library.
Sometimes big stories start with a small piece of information. In 2015, a social media post launched what would become about 18 months of reporting on the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office scandal.
“Deputy involved shooting in north Tulsa,” a post on Twitter from Fox 23 said.
Robert Bates, a 73-year-old reserve deputy for the Sheriff’s Office had shot and killed an unarmed, restrained Black man named Eric Harris. He claimed it was an accident. The volunteer deputy said he believed he was pointing a Taser at Harris, not shooting and killing him.
The Frontier reported on the shooting and the fallout for over a year as the story evolved into one of political patronage, nepotism and cover-ups. The scandal drew national media attention and was one of the newly founded Frontier’s first big stories.
Many questioned how a 73-year-old volunteer deputy had found his way onto an undercover task force. And those questions intensified once reporters learned Bates didn’t have the qualifications to be a reserve deputy. He never completed his training hours and failed gun training classes. The Tulsa County Sheriff’s office gave him a police vehicle and allowed him to make solo arrests against agency policy. Dozens of sheriff’s office deputies and staffers cautioned Tulsa County Sheriff Stanley Glanz that Bates’ autonomy would come back to bite the department.
The Frontier reported on the killing, coverup, grand jury investigation and trial for more than a year, and its coverage spanned dozens of stories, helping solidify the nascent outlet’s reputation for fearless investigative reporting.
Bates shot Harris, who was suspected of selling a stolen gun, after an undercover sting operation fell apart. Harris met an undercover deputy outside of a Dollar General store in north Tulsa, bringing with him a backpack containing an unloaded handgun. When vehicles began to surround Harris in the store parking lot, he fled. Deputies tackled him before the 73-year-old Bates arrived, yelling “Taser! Taser!” The reserve deputy eventually fired one bullet from his laser-sighted .357 revolver, striking Harris in the ribs below his right arm.
The entire incident was recorded on a camera Bates had bought for the undercover unit. Bates was a close friend of Glanz, who called him a “fishing buddy.”
Even as Glanz ran unopposed for reelection, Bates maxed out donations to his friend’s campaign.
By the time our investigation into the sheriff’s office wrapped up, Robert Bates was in prison, convicted of second-degree manslaughter. A Tulsa County Grand Jury indicted Glanz on two misdemeanor counts for directing his employees to not release documents pertaining Bates’ training and for taking a $600 stipend while using a county vehicle. Glanz resigned and several high-ranking Tulsa County Sheriff’s officials quit or were fired.
Bates spent less than two years in prison before being released in 2017. In 2016, a report was released that recommended shuttering Tulsa County’s reserve deputy program, which was filled with dozens of members, many of whom donated to Glanz’s re-election campaigns. Two years after the Harris shooting, only four reserve deputies remained. A decade later, there are only 17 reserve deputies on the force.
The Harris family eventually settled with Tulsa County for $6 million.
On April 29 The Frontier will speak with Tulsa Mayor Monroe Nichols about his goals and the challenges of his first year in office. Past and present Frontier journalists will also discuss the outlet’s history and the future of nonprofit journalism. RSVP to attend for free.
In honor of our upcoming 10th Anniversary party in April, we’re giving away some exciting prizes, including tickets to OU, OSU and Oklahoma City Thunder games. Click to here to donate.
