Almost a year after the death of Eric Harris by TCSO deputy Robert Bates, an assessment of the Tulsa County Sheriff's Department finds a lack of training and policy in multiple areas.
The assessment was requested after a 2009 memo was released revealing that former reserve deputy Robert Bates received special treatment and raised concerns over the falsification of his training records.
It was conducted by a third party in Texas, Community Safety Institute, where they dissected the entire department to see how it is run.
Since the report was released Eric Harris' brother, Andre Harris, and the family's lawyer, Dan Smolen, have come out to comment on the findings.
Smolen said the community should be very concerned about the findings about how deputies would respond to shootings. The report saying, "The deputies consistently relayed that they would not know what to expect if they or another deputy were involved in a shooting," and "the sergeants interviewed were equally unclear as to how the process would work."
Smolen is representing the Harris family in a civil suit against the sheriff's department. He has represented a number of other people against the department as well and says this report will impact many more.
"There are probably hundreds of people being affected by what is being identified in the report," he said.
But for Andre, he says finally getting to see the assessment is a sign of hope.
"Hopefully when the new sheriff comes in they will go by the book, hire classified staff," Andre said. "And maybe prevent and other Eric Harris from being shot down in the street like a dog."
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