Deputy says using gun was accident

A white reserve deputy accidentally shot an unarmed black man with a gun instead of a Taser, and Oklahoma law enforcement officials berated the man as he lay dying on the ground, according to body-camera footage of an April 2 incident released this weekend.

Footage from an officer’s body camera shows the suspect, Eric Courtney Harris, running away from police shortly after they said he sold a gun to an undercover officer.

The video, released by the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office on Saturday, shows a deputy tackling Harris.

Moments later, reserve deputy Robert Charles Bates, a 73-year-old insurance executive, shouts “Taser!” – but then fires a single gunshot instead.

“I shot him; I’m sorry,” says Bates, whose gun falls to the ground.

Harris later died at a hospital.

The case has been referred to the Tulsa County District Attorney’s Office, which will decide whether to charge Bates.