In this screen shot from April 2, 2015 video provided by the Tulsa County Sheriff's Office, police restrain 44-year-old Eric Harris after he was chased down and tackled by a Tulsa County Deputy, and then shot by a reserve sheriff's deputy while in custody, in Tulsa, Okla. The sheriff's office said 73-year-old reserve deputy Robert Charles Bates fired the shot that killed Harris, believing he was using his stun gun instead of his service weapon when he opened fire. (AP Photo/Tulsa County Sheriff's Office)

 

In this screen shot from April 2, 2015 video provided by the Tulsa County Sheriff's Office, police restrain 44-year-old Eric Harris after he was chased down and tackled by a Tulsa County Deputy, and then shot by a reserve sheriff's deputy while in custody, in Tulsa, Okla. The sheriff's office said 73-year-old reserve deputy Robert Charles Bates fired the shot that killed Harris, believing he was using his stun gun instead of his service weapon when he opened fire. (AP Photo/Tulsa County Sheriff's Office)
In this screen shot from April 2, 2015 video provided by the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office, police restrain 44-year-old Eric Harris after he was chased down and tackled by a Tulsa County Deputy, and then shot by a reserve sheriff’s deputy while in custody, in Tulsa, Okla. (AP Photo/Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office)

Jack Simpson, THE INDEPENDENT

 
TULSA, Okla. (The Independent)—A reserve police officer in Oklahoma has shot and killed an unarmed black man after he claims to have mistaken his gun for a Taser.

Just a week after a video emerged of an incident that saw black man Walter Scott fatally shot by a police officer in North Carolina, disturbing police bodycam footage shows 73-year-old reserve deputy Robert Bates shoot 44-year-old Eric Courtney Harris as he is being restrained on the ground in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Bates later told police that he believed he was using his Taser stun gun and not his handgun when arresting Harris.

During the incident that occurred on 2 April, Harris can be heard shouting, “He shot me! He shot me, man. Oh, my god. I’m losing my breath,” to which one officer replies, “F*** your breath.”

 

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