Former Tulsa County Reserve Deputy Robert Bates has been released from prison. The former voluntary lawman was sentenced for the 2015 death of a suspect during a sting operation.
Eric Harris, a suspect in a gun running operation, was fleeing on foot from deputies on North Harvard in Tulsa. While trying to subdue Harris, Bates pulled his gun and shot Harris. Bates said at the time, he thought he had pulled his taser.
Bates was sentenced to four years in prison for Second Degree Manslaughter. He had been housed at the prison in Sayre. He was released this morning after serving about a third of his sentence.