Sheriff Compares Killing Of Black Man To Mistake 'Made In An Operating Room'

[Stuart G]

Source: Talking Points Memo

The sheriff of Tulsa County, Oklahoma on Monday compared the shooting of an unarmed black man by a white reserve deputy to the kind of mistakes doctors make in an operating room.


The Tulsa County Sheriff's Office has said that Reserve Deputy Robert Bates, 73, accidentally shot Eric Harris on April 2 when he mistook his handgun for a Taser while trying to help another deputy subdue Harris. A video released over the weekend showed a deputy telling Harris "fuck your breath" when he complained of being short of breath after being shot.

"He made an error," Sheriff Stanley Glantz told The Tulsa World newspaper. "How many errors are made in an operating room every week?"

Aside from being a reserve deputy, Bates is an insurance company executive who has donated thousands of dollars in equipment to the sheriff's office. Glantz described him to the newspaper as a friend going back some 50 years who also had served as his insurance agent.


Read more: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/sheriff-stanley-glantz-eric-harris-shooting-error

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Please read the entire story, you will see this Reserve Deputy, Robert Bates, donated large amounts to the sheriff's campaign fund and was a participant in that election.

one more quote:

"The Tulsa World previously reported that Bates chaired Glantz's 2012 re-election effort and donated $2,500 to the sheriff's campaign."

[DRoseDARs]

1. He's right. There was a case just last month...

...where a doctor (well, a volunteer doctor who donated money so he could play doctor) reached for a scalpel, and shot his patient dead by accident. These things happen. ¯\_( ツ )_/¯

[Suich]

5. LOL!

[Journeyman]

2. Is there a mandatory, or suggested retirement age for Oklahoma Sheriffs? . . .

And how many years beyond that age is "Play Cop" Bobby Bates?

[rpannier]

4. The mandatory age probably works like this

65 retire
Give 5 figures, get to play cop til you're 70.
Give 6 figures, play cop til 80
Give 7 figures, Hell! You can be strapped on life support and play cop til you're off to meet your maker. And even then, you still get a gun and the corpse can ride around in the car

[undeterred]

18. That age when you pry the gun from his cold, dead hands.

Oklahoma!

[rpannier]

3. Let's be kind here to the sheriff for one moment

Let's say his analogy makes sense -- even though that takes not only a suspension of disbelief, but stabbing one's self in the brain through the ear canal with an awl a few times

Does the doctor then tell the patient, "Fuck your bleeding!" or "Fucking Stop Bleeding!" or "Fuck your dying!" ?
Does the doctor or anesthesiologist do that?

Because even if I wanted to be generous and give the idiot who paid money to play cop the benefit of the doubt, I can't think of anyway I could be that generous to the trained officer that was that cruel and unprofessional.

[TorchTheWitch]

17. it wasn't Bates who said that

It was another officer that was involved. Bates can be heard saying "I'm sorry" on the audio. Regardless, he had no business being in the situation to begin with. He was too old for the duty, too untrained and unexperienced, and should never have been given weapons in the first place. It's Tulsa's reservist system that's the big problem, and they have something like 130 of them. A lot of them are wealthy and donors but not all. NONE of them should be in the position of having such minimal training, handed weapons and put into serious dangerous situations where they can't possibly cope.

[cstanleytech]

6. I really could care less what the sheriff says.

And to be honest no matter how you cut it this guy still committed manslaughter just like it would be manslaughter imo if you were talking on the phone while driving and suddenly swerved over onto the sidewalk and killed a kid.

[christx30]

12. Agree 100%

I'd like to see if we can, somehow, hold the Sheriff accountable too. He put an unqualified person into that position because of campaign contributions. Can he be sued by the family?
Seems to be criminal negligence at best.

[msanthrope]

7. I'm sure the medical professionals in that area appreciate the explanation. nt

[Historic NY]

8. The donor & sheriff are going to learn about malpractice......

when they have to pony up.

[Lars39]

9. Well, yeah, if the surgeon lets his stockbroker close

up the chest wound with a scalpel left in the patient. Jeez louis.

[ninjanurse]

10. Play Doctor

Difference being a surgeon has to be qualified to cut someone and is accountable for the outcome afterwards.

[Vinca]

11. The Sheriff is full of shit. Forget the guy's money, he was too old for the position.

I believe, based on his immediate reaction, he did make a mistake and felt remorse. But it is in no way comparable to an operating room mistake. There's a reason most surgeons are young men and women. No matter how sharp you think you are, age takes a toll. I know. I'm old.

[Hosnon]

13. I FULLY support this analogy. Require LEOs to carry personal "malpractice" insurance

and hold them personally liable.

When doctors make mistakes, the city coffers don't take a hit. Let's do the same for law enforcement.

[Sivafae]

14. I can totally see it.

One person is trying to save his life and the other is shooting a gun. Makes total sense.

[MrMickeysMom]

15. Yeah, my friend made a little "oops" when house hunting the other day...

[frylock]

16. How many errors are made in an operating room every week by wealthy donors..

playing doctor?