Oklahoma sheriff linked to fatal shooting to step down on November 1

TULSA, Okla. (Reuters) - Tulsa County Sheriff Stanley Glanz will resign on Nov. 1 after a grand jury recommended his removal and indicted him on two misdemeanors in an investigation spurred by the fatal shooting of an unarmed black man by a white volunteer deputy.

In a letter obtained by the Tulsa World newspaper from Glanz to Governor Mary Fallin, Glanz announced the date and requested a special election be held as soon as possible to fill the vacancy coming with his resignation.

Scott Wood, an attorney for Glanz, told reporters this week the sheriff was stepping down after the grand jury accused him of displaying gross partiality in office, willfully neglecting his duty, and corruption in office.

The April 2 shooting in Tulsa of Eric Harris, 44, was one of a number of killings by law enforcement that triggered nationwide protests over racial bias in policing and the use of lethal force, especially against minorities.

The former reserve deputy involved in the shooting, Robert Bates, was charged with second-degree manslaughter. He faces two to four years in prison if convicted.

Harris was killed when he fled after allegedly trying to sell a gun illegally to an undercover officer. Bates has said he thought he was using his Taser against Harris and accidentally shot him.

The grand jury, according to a court filing, found that Glanz had violated policy by allowing his friend Bates to volunteer and serve as a reserve deputy and carry weapons even though he had not been adequately trained.

(Reporting by Lenzy Kreihbul-Burton in Tulsa and Jon Herskovitz in Austin, Texas; Editing by Richard Chang)