This undated file photo provided by the Tulsa Oklahoma Police Department shows officer Betty Shelby.
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In this photo made from a September 16, 2016 police video, Terence Crutcher, left, lowers his right arm as he is pursued by police officers moments before he was shot and killed by one of the officers in Tulsa, Okla.
Less than a week after an unarmed black man was shot dead by a white police officer on a Tulsa street, prosecutors charged the officer with first-degree manslaughter, a decision that may prevent unrest. Police say Tulsa officer Shelby fired the fatal shot that killed 40 year-old Terence Crutcher, Sept. 16, 2016.
“It is our responsibility to determine if the filing of a criminal charge is justified under the law”, Tulsa County District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler said.
The shooting of Mr Terence Crutcher on Sept 16, recorded by dashboard cameras and a police helicopter, lead to heightened tensions between yet another United States police department and African-Americans.
Tiffany Crutcher, Terence’s twin sister, said at a press conference later Thursday that her family was pleased to learn “the officer who senselessly killed my beloved twin brother” had been charged.
Police Sgt. Dave Walker has said investigators found a vial of the drug PCP in Crutcher’s vehicle.
“The chain breaks here”.
Obama said protesters expressing their frustrations by looting or breaking glass aren’t going to “advance the cause” of racial justice. “We know the history”.
Officer Shelby was charged with a felony count of first-degree manslaughter – heat of passion, which carries a minimum sentence of four years in prison if convicted.
Shelby’s attorney, Scott Wood, did not immediately respond to telephone messages seeking comment on the charges. Shelby’s attorney said the officer thought Crutcher was behaving strangely and ignored her commands, and she was afraid he might be reaching for a weapon.
It all started after a 911 call Friday from a woman said an abandoned vehicle was blocking the street and a man was running away. Is it going beyond the call of duty or a grave abuse of authority?
The affidavit says Mr Crutcher was not responding to Officer Shelby’s verbal commands and was walking away from her with his hands held up. Her attorney said she was on her way to a domestic violence call when she saw Crutcher. She did not activate her patrol car’s dashboard camera, so no footage exists of what first happened between the two before other officers arrived. Then she saw Crutcher and talked to him. Crutcher was mumbling to himself and wouldn’t answer Shelby’s questions, the document says.
Officer Betty Shelby of Tulsa County is the prime suspect of the shooting.
In the video, Crutcher can be seen raising his arms in the air in the middle of the street. He walks away from Shelby toward his vehicle.
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An officer follows Crutcher from behind for several seconds with a gun drawn before three more officers then converge on the scene as Crutcher walks toward the SUV.
