At a price of $6 million, Tulsa County has settled an excessive force lawsuit brought by the Eric Harris estate.
Fallout from the tragedy and ensuing scandal from the choices and mistakes made by former Sheriff Stanley Glanz and former Reserve Deputy Robert Bates will be paid for by Tulsa County taxpayers.
Harris was killed on April 2, 2015, during a gun sting operation. He fled but had been apprehended and was restrained on the ground when Bates shot him. Bates said he mistook his gun for a Taser. Video of the incident generated national attention.
After an internal investigation and grand jury probe, Glanz resigned and later was convicted of two misdemeanors unrelated to the Harris killing. Subsequent reforms in the Sheriff’s Office include better reserve deputy training and more transparent bookkeeping.
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Bates, now 76, was convicted of second-degree manslaughter and served 18 months of a four-year prison sentence. Last month, the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals unanimously affirmed his conviction, although his attorneys have asked the court to reconsider its ruling.
Andre Harris, spokesman for Eric Harris’ family, said the settlement will provide an opportunity for his slain brother’s children to seek an education.
The judgment will be paid out during a three-year period from a county sinking fund, which is accumulated generally through property tax revenue but can also come from other taxpayer-generated avenues such as sales tax.
As a practical matter, judgments are usually purchased as investments by public retirement funds. The injured parties are paid up front, and the retirement fund earns the interest, which has been 5.5 percent in recent years.
Settling the case was the proper decision — financially, emotionally and morally.
By comparison, last year a jury awarded $10.25 million to the estate of Elliott Williams, who died naked and paralyzed on a Tulsa Jail cell floor in October 2011 after waiting 51 hours for care. That trial case cost more than $500,000 in legal fees, while the settlement for Harris’ estate cost about $60,000 in such fees.
If the settlement disturbs you, good. It should. It’s a lesson that our sheriff’s office has to operate properly. Lives can be at stake, and everyone can end up paying for it.