Woodward County Sheriff halts reserve deputy program

WOODWARD, Okla. (AP) – Woodward County Sheriff Kevin Mitchell says he’s temporarily suspending the department’s deputy reserve program.

Mitchell made the announcement Monday, citing the incident involving a Tulsa County reserve officer who fatally shot an unarmed man when he mistakenly grabbed his handgun instead of his stun gun. After the shooting, it was discovered that officer Robert Bates hadn’t received sufficient training over the years of his service.

The Woodward News (http://bit.ly/1USLeVp ) reports that Mitchell wants to avoid a similar scenario in the future, so he’s halting the program until the department’s policies can be updated.

He plans to rewrite Woodward County’s reserve duty policy and reopen the program in about 60 to 90 days.