TULSA, Okla. (AP) — Defense attorneys have released some of the training records for a 73-year-old volunteer sheriff's deputy charged with second-degree manslaughter in an unarmed suspect's shooting death in Oklahoma.
The records for Tulsa County volunteer deputy Robert Bates include certificates showing what training he received, job evaluation reports and weapons training and qualification records dating to 2008.
Bates' attorneys said the 64 pages of records released to The Associated Press and other news organizations Saturday include records Bates copied and kept for himself. Although there are time gaps in the documents provided, some of the records seem to indicate Bates was proficient in firearms and dozens of other training courses.
Bates has said he mistakenly pulled out a handgun rather than a stun gun when fatally shooting Eric Harris on April 2.