Sheriff Whose Deputy Killed Unarmed Black Man Resigns After Own Indictment

The Oklahoma sheriff whose office was accused of falsifying training records and giving preferential treatment to a white reserve deputy who fatally shot an unarmed black man announced his resignation Wednesday.

An attorney for Tulsa County Sheriff Stanley Glanz told The Tulsa World newspaper that his client planned to resign after a state grand jury handed down two misdemeanor criminal indictments against him and recommended he be suspended from office.

Glanz was indicted on accusations he failed to release a 2009 report involving former reserve deputy Robert Bates, who fatally shot Eric Harris in April after he said he mistook his own gun for a taser. Glanz was also accused of being reimbursed financially for driving a personal vehicle, according to the newspaper. A third indictment was filed under seal, the report noted.

Bates, who had a cozy relationship with Glanz as his former campaign manager, donor and real estate agent, pleaded not guilty to a second-degree manslaughter charge in Harris’ shooting.

News reports emerged in April about a 2009 internal investigation the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office opened into whether Bates had received preferential treatment during training and in the field. The internal review reportedly found that Bates made unauthorized vehicle stops and used his personal car while on duty.

Separately, questions were raised about whether Bates was properly trained for his duties as a reserve deputy. The Tulsa World reported at the time, citing anonymous sources, that supervisors allegedly signed off on falsified training records for Bates. Glanz responded by asserting that an investigation into Bates’ training records “six or seven years ago” determined “there was no special treatment.”

Glanz had been in office since 1989. His attorney didn’t specify to The Tulsa World when exactly the sheriff would step down.