8 reserve deputies leave Tulsa sheriff’s office after audit

TULSA, Okla. (AP) – Eight reserve deputies at an Oklahoma sheriff’s agency where a fellow volunteer deputy fatally shot an unarmed man have left the program after an internal audit that found outdated or deficient files in more than half its reserve ranks.

Tulsa County Sheriff spokesman Terry Simonson said Thursday five of the eight deputies decided to retire and three had to leave the program because they couldn’t produce the proper paperwork.

The sheriff’s office said it found deficiencies in files of 64 of its 112 reserve deputies and gave the volunteer deputies a Sept. 15 deadline to submit updated documentation.

The agency’s reserve deputy program has been suspended since volunteer deputy Robert Bates fatally shot a man in April. Bates, who left the agency, has pleaded not guilty to second-degree manslaughter.