"Fuck Your Breath": Video of "Inadvertent" Police Shooting Released
On Friday, authorities released footage of the final moments of Eric Courtney Harris, the unarmed Oklahoma man shot and killed by a Tulsa County reserve deputy who claims he mistakenly fired his gun instead of his Taser.
After a brief foot chase, the video shows an officer subduing Harris and Reserve Deputy Robert Bates, 73, can be heard shouting "Taser!" before a single shot rings out. "I shot him," Bates says afterward, "I'm sorry."
Pinned by multiple sheriff's deputies, a panicked Harris repeats "He shot me!" eight times before saying, "I'm losing my breath."
"Fuck your breath," an officer replies.
At a press conference on Friday, Tulsa County Sheriff’s Capt. Billy McKelvey told reporters that deputies were not aware Harris had been shot, having not heard the weapon discharge.
McKelvey additionally noted that Bates' pistol and Taser had similar weights and both had laser sights. “He made an inadvertent mistake,” McKelvey said.
