A police video screenshot of the moments before officer Betty Shelby opened fire onTerence Crutcher.
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The video shows multiple police cruisers approach Crutcher’s vehicle, which appears to be broken down in the middle of the road.
A first-degree murder charge – which can carry the death penalty in Oklahoma – would seem highly unlikely, no matter what the investigation turns up, Berlin said.
To make matters worse, after Officer Betty Shelby killed him, Tulsa Police let Terence Crutcher bleed out on the street.
About 200 protesters gathered Tuesday evening outside the Tulsa Police Department.
Here are 5 of the key disputes in both accounts of the Crutcher shooting, as told from both sides of the issue. An angry ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) has asked that criminal charges be filed against the officer.
In Tulsa, Okla., auto trouble led to the death of an unarmed black man, after police shot him while he was seeking roadside assistance.
By the time Crutcher raised his hands, Tulsa Police officers were also flying above the scene in a helicopter, capturing the incident from an on-board camera.
Officer Betty Shelby fired a single shot, killing the father of four who was reportedly on his way home from a music appreciation class at Tulsa Community College when his auto broke down in the middle of the street, his family has said.
A familiar question that arose after other police shootings now looms over Oklahoma: Will the white officer seen on video fatally shooting an unarmed black man be charged with a crime? Shelby and the second officer follow Crutcher with their weapons drawn and pointed at his back.
“I think that the police are trying to figure out a way to justify blaming Terence Crutcher for his own death”, Benjamin Crump, an attorney for the Crutcher family, said on CNN.
Ms Shelby’s mother-in-law has said she is not guilty of wrongdoing, and called for sympathy from others for the pain suffered by the Shelby family. Police Sgt. Shane Tuell told the Associated Press that Shelby was certified in the use of stun guns.
On Friday, two callers reported that a man had left his vehicle in a traffic lane with the doors open, according to police. Tulsa police say Crutcher didn’t have a gun. A man in the helicopter that arrived above the scene as Crutcher walked to the vehicle can be heard saying “time for a Taser” and then: “That looks like a bad dude, too”.
Protesters offer condolences to Tyler Johnson, son of Terence Crutcher, in front of the Tulsa County Courthouse Monday, Sept. 19, 2016, in Tulsa, Okla., during a protest of the Tulsa Police shooting of Terence Crutcher. Each was a black man fatally shot by an officer, with the aftermath captured on video. Shelby is on paid administrative leave. “We’re all sick. We feel for the [Crutcher] family”, Lois Shelby said.
He assured people that justice will be achieved. The Department of Justice was investigating. According to his sister, that’s the least that should happen given Crutcher won’t be able to make his family proud like he hoped to do.
Authorities have not said whether PCP was found in Crutcher’s system at the time of his death.
Shelby’s attorney, Scott Wood, says the encounter unfolded for about 2 minutes before the video footage begins.
Shelby “cleared” the right side of Crutcher’s vehicle, and when she started toward the other side to check it, Crutcher approached her.
The fatal shooting on Friday of Terence Crutcher was recorded by police auto dashboard cameras and a police helicopter camera in that city in Oklahoma.
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“He has his hands up and is facing the auto and looks at Shelby, and his left hand goes through the vehicle window, and that’s when she fired her shot”, said Wood, who could not be reached for comment yesterday. A video of the incident shows him with his hands in the air before he was shot. Police had been responding to a stalled vehicle in the middle of a road.
