( CNN ) A Tulsa County reserve deputy is on administrative leave after `` inadvertently '' shooting a suspect with his gun . Police say Robert ( Bob ) Bates , 73 , thought he pulled out his Taser during an arrest , but instead shot the suspect , who later died at a local hospital . The shooting happened after an apparent drug and gun selling operation by the Tulsa Violent Crimes task force Thursday . Bates , a member of the task force , was part of a group of deputies trying to arrest Eric Courtney Harris , 44 , in the parking lot of a Dollar General store . Police say Harris , a convicted felon , sold undercover officers a pistol . When confronted by an arrest team , he fled the scene on foot and police say they `` observed him reaching for his waistband area ... causing concern for the deputies safety . '' After a brief pursuit , police say Harris was forced to the ground , where he continued to resist arrest and `` refused to pull his left arm from underneath his body where his hand was near his waistband . '' It was during this portion of the arrest that police say `` the reserve deputy was attempting to use less lethal force , believing he was utilizing a Taser , when he inadvertently discharged his service weapon , firing one round which struck Harris . '' Harris died at a local hospital and his cause of death is under investigation . Police say Harris admitted to medics at the scene that he may have been under the influence of Phencyclidine , a street drug commonly known as PCP . When asked if another gun was found on Harris , Shannon Clark of the Tulsa County Sheriff 's Office says `` The suspect was placed in the ambulance and transported so quickly . I have not been told there was a second weapon found on him yet . '' Deputy Robert Bates , who 's been placed on administrative leave during the investigation , received his reserve status from the Tulsa County Sheriff 's Office in 2008 and was assigned to the violent crime task force . He had also served as a Tulsa Police officer . When asked by CNN affiliate KTUL whether age may have played a factor in the `` inadvertent '' shooting , Clark says `` did an accident happen ? Sure . But is it accredited to his age ? Or was it accredited to the rapidly evolving situation ? I guess that will be determined in the investigation . '' CNN 's AnneClaire Stapleton , Joe Sutton contributed to this report .
Police say Robert Bates , 73 , thought he pulled out his Taser during an arrest . He was shot and killed by a police officer in Tulsa, Oklahoma on Tuesday night.