Robert Bates breaks his silence over accidental killing of black man in Tulsa

The reserve deputy says he mistook his gun for his Taser in undercover incident

The reserve sheriff’s deputy who accidentally killed a man in Tulsa, Oklahoma after apparently mistaking his gun for his Taser has spoken out and apologised to the family of Eric Harris.

“I rate this as No. 1 on my list of things in my life that I regret,” the reserve deputy, Robert Bates, said on the Today show. “This was not an intentional thing, I had no desire to ever take anyone's life.”

Mr Bates has been charged with second-degree manslaughter in the shooting, which happened during an undercover gun sting. He has come under fire because of his questionable relationship with the Tulsa sheriff’s department.

Mr Bates is a volunteer sheriff’s deputy and he reportedly had donated money and equipment to the department. Many have raised questions about whether he should have been on the undercover operation during which he shot Mr Harris.

A video of the incident captures Mr Bates shooting Mr Harris, after which the deputy can be heard saying, “I shot him. I’m sorry”. On the Today Show, he said that after he fired the gun, he thought, “Oh, my God, what has happened?”

The shooting has highlighted the issue of volunteer and reserve police officers in the US and the training they receive. The Tulsa sheriff’s department said that Mr Bates was fully trained, but a report from the Tulsa World earlier this week said his training records had been falsified.

Mr Bates said that report is false, and said he was properly trained and certified.

“That is not correct,” he said. “That is absolutely the truth. I have it in writing.”

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