Deputy report makes sheriff protest target

TULSA -- Dozens of protesters called Friday evening for Tulsa County Sheriff Stanley Glanz to step down after a report raised concerns about the performance and training of a volunteer deputy charged with fatally shooting a restrained suspect.

Protesters clutching signs that read "Glanz Gotta Go" gathered at the county courthouse late Friday and marched to the sheriff's office.

Earlier Friday, lawyers for volunteer deputy Eric Harris released a sheriff's office memo outlining a 2009 investigation into Robert Bates, 73. Bates has said he mistakenly shot Eric Harris on April 2 after confusing his handgun for his stun gun and has pleaded innocent to second-degree manslaughter.

The 2009 report says Bates, who had joined the sheriff's office less than a year earlier, had argued with a dispatcher, improperly used a personal vehicle on the job and appeared to have inadequate training for a role as an advanced reserve deputy.

Bates is a longtime friend to Glanz, serving as his insurance agent for 25 years and his re-election campaign manager in 2012.

The report concluded that Bates didn't receive special treatment for admittance into the program, because no one fully met internal standards at that time. It did, however, find that Bates received special treatment once admitted, including agency leaders ignoring complaints about his performance.

Tulsa County sheriff's office spokesman Maj. Shannon Clark said he could not confirm the details of the report. He questioned the authenticity of the document released by the Harris family lawyer.

Protesters called for Glanz's resignation after the report was released.

"I feel like it's time the good-old-boy club is broken up in Tulsa," resident Pamela Smith said.

A spokesman for Glanz said the sheriff had no plans to leave office.

Separately Friday, local prosecutors issued a statement saying it may be time for an outside agency to investigate the entire operation under Glanz, who has been in office since 1989.

"I am highly concerned about recent allegations that have surfaced and I have been in contact with independent law enforcement agencies regarding further investigation into these matters," District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler said.

Kunzweiler spokesman Susan Witt said the district attorney has not formally called for an investigation and would not release the names of agencies he's contacted.

The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation said it is not conducting its own probe, and the local FBI office did not return a call for comment. The Department of Justice's local office would not say whether it was looking into how Glanz ran his department.

The 2009 document quotes Sgt. Randy Chapman, the reserve deputies supervisor, as saying two of Bates' peers complained that his field operations "were a little scary."

Chapman told an investigator he was reassigned to another division after raising concerns about Bates' performance to supervisors, according to the report.

The report's cover letter says it was prepared by Sgt. Rob Lillard at the request of then-Undersheriff Brian Edwards, who no longer works for the office. Edwards said Friday that he doesn't remember why he ordered the review of Bates and referred questions about its findings to the sheriff's office.

A Section on 04/25/2015

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