Lawyer: Tulsa County sheriff to resign after indictments handed down
TULSA COUNTY, Okla. --A grand jury has indicted an Oklahoma sheriff on two misdemeanors as part of an investigation into his office following a volunteer deputy's fatal shooting of an unarmed man in April.
The grand jury's findings announced Wednesday also recommended that Tulsa County Sheriff Stanley Glanz be removed from office. A lawyer for Glanz says Glanz plans to resign before a Nov. 10 hearing on the indictments.
The panel accused Glanz of refusing to perform his official duties for not promptly releasing documents as part of an internal investigation of volunteer deputy Robert Bates, one of Glanz's longtime friends.
Bates has pleaded not guilty to second-degree manslaughter in the fatal shooting of Eric Harris.
The office has faced criticism since Bates fatally shot Harris in April while working as a reserve deputy.
Bates has said he mistook his handgun for a stun gun.
A 2009 memo released by attorneys for Harris' family indicates Bates was given special treatment. The grand jury investigation was launched after a group collected thousands of signatures calling for an independent investigation into Glanz and his office.
The grand jury also accused Glanz of willful violation of the law in an unrelated incident involving a stipend he received for a vehicle.