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Tulsa, Okla. • The second-ranking official in the Tulsa County Sheriff's Office resigned Monday after a leaked internal investigation showed he pressured subordinates to ignore the training deficiencies of a volunteer deputy charged in the fatal shooting of a restrained man during a sting operation.
Sheriff Stanley Glanz didn't specify why Undersheriff Tim Albin stepped down but said departmental reorganization was necessary after the April 2 shooting by reserve deputy Robert Bates, who says he mistook his handgun for a stun gun.
"Given the gravity of the current situation and the need to go a different direction with our leadership and management, he agrees with me that it is time for a change," Glanz said of Albin. It was the first time since the shooting that the sheriff publicly acknowledged potential problems with the office's operations.
Albin, a 26-year veteran of the office, declined to comment Monday.
A 2009 special investigation found that Albin was, at a minimum, aware that Bates was inadequately trained but pressured officers in the office to look the other way.
The sheriff's office had initially denied the report's existence. But, after its release Friday, an attorney for the sheriff's office said no action was taken as a result of the investigation but that it demonstrated the office's willingness to review alleged policy violations. The sheriff's office is now investigating how it was leaked.
The report showed some deputies had claimed Albin gave preferential treatment to Bates, a close friend of the sheriff's, and intimidated those who raised concerns. The former coordinator of the reserve deputy program, Sgt. Randy Chapman, told the investigator that Albin chastised him after he questioned Bates' performance.
Chapman is quoted in the report as telling the investigator that Albin said: "You need to stop messing with [Bates] because he does a lot of good for the county." Chapman declined to talk about the memo when contacted last week and also declined Monday after Albin's resignation.
"I've been told to stay out of it," Chapman said.
Eric Harris, 44, was shot while on the ground in custody after running from deputies following a sting operation. Bates, 73, has pleaded not guilty to a charge of second-degree manslaughter.