Tulsa Police Officer Betty Shelby was booked into jail shortly after 2:00aET early Friday morning, according to the Tulsa County Jail Website.
Advertisement
Tulsa County District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler announced yesterday (September 22) that Shelby has been charged with first-degree manslaughter, a felony charge that can carry a sentence of at least four years in prison.
“The officers who callously failed to render immediate aid when Terence was shot and bleeding to death and the officer in the helicopter who referred to Terence Crutcher as “one bad dude” are evidence of a dehumanizing culture we see all too often”, Kiesel said. 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.
Video released by law enforcement on Monday (Sept 19) shows police officers in Oklahoma fatally shooting Crutcher whose auto was stalled in the middle of the street. While Shelby, who is White, maintains that she thought Crutcher had a gun, there was no weapon found on him or in the auto.
The possible penalty for conviction on first-degree manslaughter in Oklahoma is four years to life, according to district attorney spokeswoman Susan Witt.
He says Shelby was so caught up in the encounter with Crutcher that she didn’t realize backup officers had arrived.
Although PCP was found in Crutcher’s vehicle, no weapon was recovered either on his person or in his SUV.
An arrest warrant was issued for Shelby and arrangements have been made for her surrender, he said.
The attorney representing the officer charged in the death of Terence Crutcher returned to Tulsa Thursday night.
In a statement to the press, Crutcher’s family said, “Today, we are thankful to TPD and Chief Jordan for providing info and happy charges were brought”. “I don’t know why things happen in this world the way they do”.
Shelby’s attorney, Scott Wood, said Friday that Shelby is trained in “de-escalation” and that she had been selected to train new officers at the Tulsa Police Department. “We’re going to break the chains of police brutality”, she added.
WHAT THE OFFICER’S ATTORNEY HAS SAIDShelby’s attorney, Scott Wood, has told the Tulsa World the situation unfolded for almost two minutes before the police footage started. But attorneys for Crutcher’s family argue that police footage shows that the vehicle window was rolled up, and the videos do not show Crutcher being disorderly.
Police acknowledge that Mr Crutcher did not have a gun on him or in his vehicle. And police said Crutcher did not have gun on him or in his vehicle.
The death drew nationwide and even global attention to Tulsa as a debate brewed over whether Crutcher was reaching for something inside his vehicle window at the time of the incident. 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. He appeared to have his arms raised when the single, fatal shot was sacked.
The latest in a high-profile string of unarmed police shootings in recent years, the death of Crutcher immediately sparked a wave of protests.
Crutcher’s family said he was waiting for help after his SUV broke down.
Advertisement
That decision that may prevent unrest in a city with a long history of tense race relations.
