Eric Harris death: 'F**k your breath' Tulsa deputy not aware of fatal gunshot by Robert Bates

Police in Oklahoma have claimed that officers caught on camera using expletives against a fatally wounded man while subduing him, didn't know at the time that he had been shot - allegedly by accident - by a 73-year-old reserve sheriff's deputy.

In the clip, Tulsa sheriff's deputies are seen telling Eric Harris: "F*** your breath", after a loud bang is heard and the 44-year-old suspect cries he has been shot and his is losing his breath, as an officer holds his head to the ground with a knee.

"They did not know that he was shot at this time. They had audio exclusion," Tulsa County Sheriff's Office Capt. Bill McKelvey told CNN. "They was at a point where they couldn't hear. They didn't even hear the gunshot go off. The officers did not know that Mr Harris had been shot."

The coarse language used by the officers during the arrest came across as one of the most shocking details emerging from a video recording of the deadly incident released by authorities.

"Perhaps the most disturbing aspect of all of this is the inhumane and malicious treatment of Eric after he was shot," Harris's family said in a statement.

"These deputies treated Eric as less than human. They treated Eric as if his life had no value," adding that such treatment at the hands of the law was unacceptable and the incident left them "saddened, shocked, confused and disturbed".

As the footage was made public many took to Twitter to vent their anger at the treatment suffered by Harris. Some drew a natural comparison between the "F*** your breath" pronounced by a Tulsa deputy and the infamous last words of New York man Eric Garner, who died in a police choke-hold saying "I can't breathe".

Garner's deadly arrest was also caught on camera, sparking nationwide demonstrations against US police perceived excessive use of force against African-Americans and "I can't breathe" became the protests slogan.

Meanwhile prosecutors have charged the 73-year-old reserve sheriff's deputy who shot Harris dead with second-degree manslaughter involving "culpable negligence".

Robert Bates, an insurance executive who had volunteered for the sting operation that led to Harris's arrest, said he mistook his handgun for a stun gun when he fatally fired on the suspected illegal gun seller.

The footage recorded by a Tulsa County officer's sunglasses camera shows police chasing and eventually tackling Harris to the ground. A deputy is then heard telling him: "I need you to roll on your stomach," while a female onlooker urges everyone to "Stop fighting".

Moments later a bang is heard. "Oh, I shot him. I'm sorry," a man identified as Bates says.

The suspect then screams: "He shot me. Oh my God," and a deputy replies: "You f***ing ran. Shut the f*** up."

The video ends with Harris saying he is losing his breath to which a deputy replies, "F*** your breath."

Harris was taken to a local hospital where he later died.