Warning: The following video may be disturbing to viewers. “We wanted to be able to have that intimate time with them, with their attorney, to see if they had any questions or concerns”.
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An unarmed black man was shot and killed by Tulsa police on Friday after his vehicle stalled in the middle of the road. Small protests took place over the weekend and the family demanded that the video from the officer’s dashboard cameras and the police helicopter be released to the public.
Shelby said Terence Crutcher had one hand in the air and one, reaching into the vehicle.
Police released the footage Monday.
But footage of the incident shows Crutcher walking away from officers toward his vehicle.
Then nearly immediately, someone can be heard yelling, “Shots fired!”.
Police spokeswoman Jeanne MacKenzie said earlier that police briefings indicated Crutcher was not obeying the officers’ commands.
At the news conference held by city leaders, Tulsa County District Attorney said his office will review police reports and evidence from the investigation to determine whether it should file any charges against Officer Betty Shelby.
The video quality simply isn’t that crisp from the helicopter view because of distance, and the dash cameras are obscured by the bodies of the officers themselves.
“That looks like a bad dude, too”, an officer is heard saying in the video. “Might be on something”.
About a dozen people gathered outside the Tulsa courthouse to protest the shooting. “That big bad dude was a father, that big bad dude was a son, that big bad dude was enrolled at Tulsa Community College just wanting to make us all proud, that big bad dude loved God, that big bad dude was in church singing with all of his flaws every week”. The Department of Justice will conduct its own independent civil rights investigation into the shooting.
“He refused to follow commands given by the officers”, MacKenzie said. She is on paid administrative leave, the department said.
His twin sister Tiffany Crutcher tells Tulsa World that she and the family just want answers.
Acoording to a Tulsa Police Facebook Post in August, Officer Betty Shelby was surprised with flowers from the victims of a burglary that the officer had assisted. Unfortunately, as is common with these kinds of cases, it still might be some time before whatever “justice” Police Chief Jordan has promised comes to fruition. But, Goss said, Crutcher did not reach into the SUV or display any behavior that would warrant being shot, and does not appear to have a weapon in the videos. Police walk around Crutcher for about two minutes before giving assistance.
Goss said the public should respond with reason, not violence. Meanwhile, protestors have been gathering outside of the Tulsa court house with signs reading, “This Stops Now”, “Not Going, Keep Protesting”, and chanting, “Hands up, don’t shoot”.
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Police said the shooting occurred after an officer stopped to investigate a vehicle in the middle of a road. Officers are involved in typically fast-moving situations, and officers who choose to use force, base (those decisions) on the situation involved that they are facing,”MacKenzie said”.
