Charges Filed Against Officer Involved in Deadly Tulsa Shooting
The police officer who shot and killed an unarmed black man Sept. 16 has been formally charged with first-degree manslaughter in connection with the shooting.
Officer Betty Shelby fired one shot at 40-year-old Terence Crutcher during a traffic stop in Tulsa, Okla. Dashcam footage from Shelby’s car and aerial footage from a police helicopter showed Crutcher walking away from Shelby with his arms in the air prior to the shooting, although the footage does not offer a clear image of when the shot was fired.
Scott Wood, Shelby’s attorney, said Crutcher did not follow more than two dozen commands and that the officer fired when the man began to reach into the window of his SUV.
Wood said Shelby suspected Crutcher was attempting to retrieve a weapon when he reached into the car. In her interview with homicide detectives, she reportedly said, “I was never so scared in my life as in that moment right then,” according to Wood.
Tulsa police say Crutcher did not have a gun on him, nor was a gun found in his vehicle.
Crutcher’s family maintains the windows to his SUV were closed, saying blood spatters on the glass are proof the windows were up at the time of the shooting.
The Department of Justice is also investigating the incident.
According to Tulsa Police Chief Chuck Jordan, dispatchers received a 911 call Friday evening about an abandoned SUV in the middle of the street, with the engine running and the driver’s door open.
Wood said that when Shelby arrived on the scene, the doors were closed and windows were open. At one point, Crutcher was walking toward her, and he began to put his left hand into his pocket.
Shelby told him to keep his hands out of his pockets. She tried to get Crutcher to talk to her about the vehicle, but she said Crutcher mumbled something unintelligible. He reached into his pocket again, and she again ordered him to keep his hands visible.
She pulled out her gun and another officer pulled out a Taser and ordered Crutcher to the ground. Instead, Shelby said, Crutcher ignored the command and walked toward the SUV with his hands up.
The orders can not be heard in the audio from the dashcam video, which is from another patrol car that arrives on the scene and begins with Crutcher walking toward his SUV.
Shelby said she thought Crutcher was acting like he might be under the influence of PCP, and police said they found the drug in his vehicle after he was shot.
Tulsa Mayor Dewey Bartlett said he was appreciative of the investigative work done so far on the case.
“Our Tulsa Police Department worked quickly to provide all the information to the District Attorney. I appreciate their efforts as well as the District Attorney’s usual thorough evaluation of the rules of law for which we are all accountable,” Bartlett said. “These are important steps to ensure that justice and accountability prevails.” (For more from the author of “Charges Filed Against Officer Involved in Deadly Tulsa Shooting” please click HERE)
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