Top Oklahoma law-enforcement trainer says more education requirements needed for volunteers

Published May 03, 2016

Oklahoma's top law enforcement trainer says volunteer police and sheriff's deputies need to undergo more training, even if they're former full-time officers.

Steve Emmons leads the Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training, which oversees law-enforcement training statewide.

He's working with lawmakers to mandate more training after Robert Bates, a volunteer Tulsa County sheriff's deputy, said he mistook his handgun for a stun gun before fatally shooting an unarmed suspect this month. Bates has pleaded not guilty to second-degree manslaughter.

Other than passing an annual firearms certification, Oklahoma law didn't require additional training because Bates attended a police academy and worked for a year as a patrolman in the mid-1960s.

Emmons says there's currently no requirement for continuing education once a person becomes certified, but he's looking to change that.

URL

https://www.foxnews.com/us/top-oklahoma-law-enforcement-trainer-says-more-education-requirements-needed-for-volunteers