So how did the 73-year-old insurance company CEO end up joining a sting operation this month that ended when he pulled out his handgun and killed suspect Eric Harris instead of stunning him with a Taser? 
 
 A lawyer representing the Harris family says the answer is simple. 
 
 Bates paid big money to play a cop in his spare time, attorney Daniel Smolen says, but he didn't have the training to handle the job. 
 
 It's a claim that Bates' attorney and the sheriff's office deny, arguing that he was experienced and qualified for the role. His donations of equipment to the Tulsa County Sheriff's Office and his friendship with Sheriff Stanley Glanz, they say, have nothing to do with the April 2 shooting. 
 
 But as Bates faces a second-degree manslaughter charge , analysts say the case raises serious questions about who's policing America's streets, how and why. 
 
 How much training did he have? 
 
 Investigators have said Bates meant to pull out his Taser but accidentally used his handgun during the undercover weapons sting. 
 
 In a video of the shooting, he's heard announcing that he's going to deploy his stun gun, and then apologizing, saying, "I shot him. I'm sorry." 
 
 Critics call it a clear case of police brutality and question whether Bates had the know-how to be a deputy. 
 
 "It's absolutely mind-boggling that you have a wealthy businessman who's been essentially deputized to go play like he's some outlaw, like he's just cleaning up the streets," Smolen said. 
 
 Scott Wood, an attorney who represents Bates, said his client -- who had donated cars and video equipment to the Sheriff's Office -- had undergone all the required training and had participated in more than 100 operations with the office's violent crimes task force. 
 
 He'd never been the main deputy in charge of arresting a suspect, Wood said, but was thrust into the situation because Harris ran from deputies, who were trying to arrest him after he sold a gun to an undercover investigator. 
 
 Bates worked for the Tulsa Police Department for a year in the 1960s. He'd been a reserve deputy since 2008, with 300 hours of training and 1,100 hours of community policing experience, according to the Sheriff's Office. 
 
 He was also a frequent contributor to the Sheriff's Office, including $2,500 to Glanz's re-election. 
 
 Tulsa County sheriff's Maj. Shannon Clark denied accusations that Bates had paid to play a cop, describing him as one of many volunteers in the community who have contributed to the agency. 
 
 "No matter how you cut it up, Deputy Bates met all the criteria on the Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training to be in the role that he was in," Clark said. 
 
 Clark said the agency is now looking into its reserve program but notes that the 130 volunteer deputies have played a crucial role policing fairs, helping out after tornadoes and rescuing people from burning homes. 
 
 Allegations of falsified records 
 
 New evidence about the training Bates received was revealed this week, when a lawyer for the Harris family released a copy of an internal inquiry by the sheriff's office in 2009. 
 
 The memo did not explicitly say that Bates paid his way into the sheriff's ranks, but the investigation did conclude that he received special treatment 
 
 The document outlines interviews with several deputies who allege they were pressured by supervisors to falsify training records or provide exceptions to Bates regarding his duties. 
 
 According to the document, one deputy said she was told by the chief deputy to certify that Bates had completed the driving requirements, even though she believed Bates had not done the training. 
 
 Another deputy, who was charged with Bates' field training, said that he was pressured into certifying the reserve deputy even though he lacked the required training hours. 
 
 The memo also mentions instances where Bates was performing actions -- such as traffic stops on his own -- that he was not allowed to do given his status. When other deputies complained about Bates flouting the rules, the top brass at the department responded by asking that Bates be left alone to do what he wanted. 
 
 Deputy: I thought he had a gun 
 
 Bates' attorney describes the shooting as an "excusable homicide," arguing his client is not guilty of second-degree manslaughter. 
 
 "We believe the video itself proves that it was an accident of misfortune that occurred while Deputy Bates was fulfilling his duties as a reserve deputy," Wood said. 
 
 In a statement he made to investigators after the shooting, Bates said he'd attended "numerous schools and seminars related to drug investigations and the tactical operations associated with the apprehension of suspects involved in drug trafficking." He also said he'd attended a five-day homicide investigation school in Dallas and had training from Arizona's Maricopa County Sheriff's Office on responding to active shooters. 
 
 The gun he used was his personal weapon, he said, adding that he qualified at the range last fall. 
 
 In the report, he describes how, from his position on the perimeter, he saw Harris running from officers. 
 
 "I noticed that Harris was running in an unusual way because as he ran he repeatedly touched his right hand to his waistband," he wrote. "Based on my past experience, primarily with the task force, and my past training, I believed that Harris might be carrying a gun." 
 
 It was the fear that Harris could have a gun, he says later in the report, that made him rush to use his Taser as he saw Harris on the pavement, struggling with deputies as they tried to arrest him. 
 
 "My training on ground fighting, even going back to when I was on the Tulsa Police Department, has been that it is one of the most dangerous situations an officer can experience," he wrote. 
 
 'Recipe for disaster' 
 
 While many departments have volunteer police programs, such positions are generally used for crowd control or less volatile situations, experts said. 
 
 The Oklahoma case raises a troubling question, CNN legal analyst Sunny Hostin said. 
 
 "Do we want really what are ordinary citizens, with enough money to play to be police officers, policing our streets? This is a very, very dangerous precedent," she said. "And I think it's now time for either the Justice Department, perhaps, or every single police department to review this, the deputy status, because we're going to see more and more of this kind of thing, if it isn't happening more than we even know." 
 
 Daniel Bongino, a former Secret Service Agent, said the New York Police Department's auxiliary department is a good example of a program that works. 
 
 "You go through a police academy, and you're primarily used in traffic situations, busy shopping areas. They're not armed, they're usually with an armed regular police officer. I think it's a far better model," he told CNN's "AC360." "I think you were almost setting yourself up for failure in this situation in Tulsa, having a 73-year-old man, however good or bad intentioned, in that kind of situation, with a potential gun crime. That was a recipe for disaster." 
 
 Look no further than the recent movie "Foxcatcher" for an example of how donations to law enforcement in order to play the role of a deputy are "very concerning," said Phil Stinson, an assistant professor of criminal justice at Bowling Green State University. 
 
 John du Pont, the killer depicted in the film , made significant donations to police, Stinson told "AC360." 
 
 "He had given a great deal of money, he'd given cars, given use of a helicopter, actually set up a firing range for a township police department outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania," he said. 
 
 "So we've actually seen this before, and if you think about the troubles police departments have had with budgets in recent years, it's rather tempting if you're the head of that type of agency to take someone up on this, and give them the action experiences that they're looking for. It's really pay for play." ||||| Tulsa, Oklahoma (CNN) Amid growing scrutiny over whether a 73-year-old volunteer deputy who killed a suspect during a sting operation was qualified to be policing the streets, a new report raises a troubling allegation. 
 
 Some supervisors at the Tulsa County Sheriff's Office were told to forge Reserve Deputy Robert Bates' training records, and three who refused were reassigned to less desirable duties, the Tulsa World newspaper reported. 
 
 Claims that the volunteer deputy's records had been falsified emerged "almost immediately" from multiple sources after Bates killed Eric Harris on April 2 , reporter Dylan Goforth said. Bates claims he meant to use his Taser but accidentally fired his handgun at Harris instead. 
 
 The newspaper's story does not say who allegedly asked the supervisors to falsify the training records or why. But the orders apparently started years ago, before Harris' death, "back when (Bates) was trying to get on as a deputy," reporter Ziva Branstetter told CNN's "New Day." 
 
 The Sheriff's Office denied the allegations in the Tulsa World's report. It also declined a CNN interview to respond to the claims. 
 
 In an email to CNN, the department's Maj. Shannon Clark said the lack of named sources in the newspaper's report leaves him dubious. 
 
 "Just keep in mind that the Tulsa World reporter cannot validate her sources and claims anonymity, which leaves us skeptical that her claims are unsubstantiated and deceptive," Clark wrote. 
 
 Clark Brewster, an attorney who represents Bates, said the accusations are based on an affidavit from a former Sheriff's Office employee who's now facing a first-degree murder charge. 
 
 "I don't put a lot of stock in that report or the credibility of who would further that report," Brewster said. 
 
 In a later interview with CNN affiliate KOKI , Clark cast further doubt on the document, which has the name of the accuser blacked out. 
 
 "If you're telling us we did something, then why can't you tell us who the person is on that affidavit so we can go back and confirm that information?" Clark said. 
 
 Department declines request for details 
 
 Sheriff Stanley Glanz and other sheriff's officials have repeatedly insisted Bates was properly trained. 
 
 The Tulsa County Sheriff's Office has released a summary of Bates' training courses only over the past seven years. 
 
 The office rejected CNN's request for the full training records because Bates' case is under investigation. 
 
 Branstetter said she's run into similar obstacles when asking for the names of supervisors who'd signed off on Bates' training records. 
 
 "You would think the Sheriff's Office, if in fact there has been no pressure applied, no falsification of records, that they would be forthcoming with these documents," she told CNN's "New Day." 
 
 "We've asked for them. They've said they don't believe they're public records." 
 
 JUST WATCHED Report: Bates donated cops cars to sheriff's office Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Report: Bates donated cops cars to sheriff's office 01:06 
 
 Missing gun certification records 
 
 Bates was classified as an advanced reserve deputy for the Sheriff's Office. That means he would have had to complete 480 hours of the field training officer program to maintain that classification, the paper said. 
 
 Bates would also have needed firearms certification training. 
 
 But the sheriff himself has acknowledged there is a problem with Bates' gun certification records -- his office can't find them. 
 
 "Bob went out and qualified with three different weapons with an instructor," Glanz told KFAQ radio this week. 
 
 He said Bates "qualified with a young lady that was a firearms instructor." But she is no longer there. 
 
 "She has left the Sheriff's Office and is now a Secret Service agent," Glanz told KFAQ. "And we're trying to get a hold of her and talk to her about ... we can't find the records that she supposedly turned in. So we're going to talk to her and find out if for sure he did qualify with those." 
 
 Inconsistent statements 
 
 Even before the Tulsa World story, inconsistencies were apparent in Bates' history with the Sheriff's Office. 
 
 In his statement to investigators, Bates said he "became an advanced TCSO Reserve Deputy in 2007." 
 
 But the Tulsa County Sheriff's Office has said Bates had been a reserve deputy since 2008 
 
 It also said Bates had undergone 300 hours of training. That would be less than the 480 hours of field training that the Tulsa World said is required to be an "advanced" reserve deputy, which Bates claimed to be. 
 
 In a statement he made to investigators after the shooting, Bates said the gun he used was his personal weapon, adding that he last qualified at the range in autumn. 
 
 He also said he'd attended "numerous schools and seminars related to drug investigations and the tactical operations associated with the apprehension of suspects involved in drug trafficking," a five-day homicide investigation school in Dallas and training from Arizona's Maricopa County Sheriff's Office on responding to active shooters. 
 
 But an Arizona official told CNN Bates never trained with the agency. 
 
 "He didn't come to Arizona," the official from the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office said, "and he certainly didn't train with us." 
 
 Brewster said that line in Bates' statement was referring to a lecture given at a seminar in Washington by Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio. The seminar was part of extensive training Bates received at classes across the country and through work in the field, he said. 
 
 "He met every training regimen," Brewster said. "He met every requirement, and all he did was give of himself." 
 
 Who's investigating? 
 
 Bates is now charged with second-degree manslaughter for Harris' death. He turned himself in to authorities Tuesday and immediately posted bail of $25,000. His attorney has said he's not guilty, calling the death an "excusable homicide." 
 
 The lawyer for Harris' family claims Bates wasn't qualified to be on the force, but received preferential treatment because he'd made donations to the agency and was a friend of the sheriff -- an accusation officials deny, saying they stand by his training record. 
 
 Tulsa Police Sgt. Jim Clark, who has been brought in to review the case, has said Bates fell "victim" to something called "slip and capture," a term to describe a high-stress situation in which a person intends to do one thing and instead does something else. 
 
 It's a controversial claim that hasn't convinced critics of the department, and calls for an independent investigation into the Sheriff's Office and the case are growing. Earlier this week, the office spokesman rejected any idea of outside investigators into the shooting. 
 
 "We're not scared to prosecute our own. ... There's nobody in this culture that can be tougher on cops than their own," Clark said. "You know that analogy that you'll eat your young? You know, that's the same thing in law enforcement. If we have a dirty cop in our ranks, we will disclose them much quicker than the media." 
 
 A spokesman for Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt said his office is concerned about allegations reported in the media about the case "and will continue to monitor and assess what appropriate measures, if any, are warranted." 
 
 Glanz has stated publicly that he's reached out to the regional office of the FBI to look into the shooting. 
 
 Special Agent Terry B. Weber told CNN there's no open FBI investigation into the case.
– Questions have arisen about how qualified reserve deputy Robert Bates was for the job after he shot and killed Eric Harris in Tulsa, Okla., on April 2, claiming he mistook his firearm for his Taser. Bates' attorney has said his client, charged with second-degree manslaughter in Harris' death, had undergone all required training, CNN reports. Now, however, "multiple" anonymous sources tell the Tulsa World that at least three supervisors were told to falsify the 73-year-old's field training and firearms certification records—and when they refused to do so, they were transferred to other departments. Other discrepancies have also popped up. Bates would have needed 480 hours of field training to qualify as the "advanced reserve" officer he was classified as, but the Tulsa sheriff's office has said he completed just 300 hours, per CNN. Then there's Bates' tenure as a reserve officer: The department says he started in 2008, but Bates has said he started in 2007, CNN notes. And although the Tulsa sheriff told local radio this week that Bates was certified for three weapons, that paperwork has vanished, as has the person who signed off on it, per the World. Regarding the falsification allegations, the department's undersheriff tells the World, "I have absolutely no knowledge of what you are talking about. There aren't any secrets in law enforcement. Zero." The department also sent an email to CNN stating, "Just keep in mind that the Tulsa World reporter cannot validate her sources and claims anonymity which leaves us skeptical that her claims are unsubstantiated and deceptive." Says a Harris family lawyer, per Business Insider: "An officer who is trained would never get these two weapons confused."