Tulsa Officer Who Fatally Shot Black Man Charged With Manslaughter

People hold signs at a "protest for justice" over Friday's shooting death of Terence Crutcher, sponsored by We the People Oklahoma, in Tulsa, Okla., Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2016. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
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TULSA, Okla. (AP) — Prosecutors in Tulsa, Oklahoma filed first-manslaughter charges Thursday against the white police officer who fatally shot an unarmed black man on a city street.

Tulsa County District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler filed the charges against officer Betty Shelby, who shot and killed 40-year-old Terence Crutcher on Sept. 16. Dashcam and aerial footage of the shooting and its aftermath showed Crutcher walking away from Shelby with his arms in the air.

The footage does not offer a clear view of when Shelby fired the single shot that killed Crutcher. Her attorney has said Crutcher was not following police commands and that Shelby opened fire when the man began to reach into his SUV window.

But Crutcher’s family immediately discounted that claim, saying the father of four posed no threat to the officers, and police said Crutcher did not have gun on him or in his vehicle.

Shelby, who joined the Tulsa Police Department in December 2011, was en route to a domestic violence call when she encountered Crutcher’s vehicle abandoned on a city street, straddling the center line. Shelby did not activate her patrol car’s dashboard camera, so no footage exists of what first happened between the two before other officers arrived.

The police footage shows Crutcher approaching the driver’s side of the SUV, then more officers walk up and Crutcher appears to lower his hands and place them on the vehicle. A man inside a police helicopter overhead says: “That looks like a bad dude, too. Probably on something.”

The officers surround Crutcher and he suddenly drops to the ground. A voice heard on police radio says: “Shots fired!” The officers back away and Crutcher is left unattended on the street for about two minutes before an officer puts on medical gloves and begins to attend to him.

Earlier this year, a former volunteer deputy with the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office was sentenced to four years in prison after he was convicted of second-degree manslaughter in the shooting death of Eric Harris.

Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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  1. Too bad this news source is so incompetent with its proof reading and non-existing editing: to wit: “Prosecutors in Tulsa, Oklahoma filed first-manslaughter charges …”. TPM needs literate writers, or some help somehow to reduce their constant blatant screw ups in text, grammar, spelling etc.

  2. Avatar for estamm estamm says:

    Only manslaughter? Should be murder.

  3. Let’s hope it doesn’t end with the spectacle of laying charges and that the prosecutor puts forward a real and convincing case for conviction.

  4. It’s an AP story. TPM may be restricted from editing AP stories they get on feed.

  5. At least she was charged, I guess.
    The union is most likely setting her up with the best lawyer the dues can buy. She’ll probably end up with a slap on the wrist.

    That said, THIS is why people protest. We can argue all day about how they should/shouldn’t do it but the point is to draw attention to this unequal justice and hold police accountable. Looks like this is a good first step.

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