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Tulsa, Oklahoma, police just released video of their apprehension of an unarmed, fleeing black man, explaining how one officer mistakenly fired his gun at the suspect, thinking it was his Taser.
The man who fled, Eric Harris, 44, died from his injuries.
The video shows Tulsa County deputies chasing and tackling Harris and then trying to subdue him. A loud bang is heard and then this, from one deputy: “Oh, I shot him. I’m sorry.”
Harris then screams out: “He shot me. Oh, my God.”
Other deputies on the video are heard swearing and telling Harris to “shut the [expletive] up,” Yahoo News reported. Harris received medical treatment at the scene but died a short time later at the hospital.
His family members released a copy of the video over the weekend, while Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office officials explained the shooter, 73-year-old reserve deputy Robert Bates, thought he had fired his stun gun, not his firearm.
Bates’ regular job is as an insurance company executive, Yahoo News reported.
Police have since claimed the shooting was not a crime, a move the attorney for the Harris family called “premature,” the Daily Beast reported.
