"F**k your breath": Justice for Eric Harris, accidentally shot by a police gun instead of a Taser!

On April 2, sheriff's deputies in Tulsa, Oklahoma, tackled suspect Eric Harris, an unarmed black man, to the ground. Volunteer "reserve" deputy Charles Bates ran up, pulled out his pistol, and shot Eric at point-blank range as he lay on the ground.

When Eric said that he had been shot and that he was losing his breath, another officer put his knee on Eric's head and replied, "F*** your breath." He died an hour later. The entire incident was caught on police sunglass camera.

Bates, a 73 year-old white donor to the sheriff's re-election campaign, says he accidentally grabbed his gun instead of his Taser. This is a believable story for a stressed-out volunteer deputy, but it calls into question the department's training procedures and perhaps even its entire volunteer program, especially given Bates' $2,500 donation to the sheriff.

At first, the department said that Bates had not committed a crime, but he has since been charged with manslaughter. It's good that he has been charged and further proof that video can change the outcome of these cases, but more needs to be done. Justice will come not when killer cops are taken off the street, but when the deaths stop.

Tell Tulsa Sheriff Stanley Glanz: Investigate your volunteer program, improve your training to make sure no one ever confuses a gun for a Taser again, and make community amends!

Please also sign the Care2 petition for police body cameras in your community!