Crutcher’s vehicle had broken down in the middle of the road, and Shelby was trying to get him to respond to her about whether the SUV was his. Police say Tulsa officer Shelby fired the fatal shot that killed 40 year-old Terence Crutcher, Sept. 16, 2016.
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An attorney representing a white Tulsa police officer who fatally shot an unarmed black man says his client opened fire after the man reached through the window of his SUV.
One thing is certain, the minutes leading up to Officer Shelby pointing her gun at Crutcher and ultimately shooting him are missing.
“Terence Crutcher should be alive right now”, King says. Shelby told the dispatcher that “she’s not having cooperation” from Crutcher, according to Chief Jordan at a Monday news conference. Each of the officers present were complicit in the unconscionable, reprehensible, and disgusting killing of this unarmed, defenseless man, by allowing him to bleed to death on the street rather than attempting any immediate medical aid or attention. Wood also stated that Shelby is a drug recognition expert and believed that Crutcher was under the influence of PCP.
With a protest planned for Friday over the death of Terence Crutcher, the police chief and US attorney promised a thorough investigation and that justice will be served.
Now federal and local authorities are investigating.
A video from a Tulsa, Oklahoma, police vehicle shows Terence Crutcher walking toward his SUV with his hands up and a female officer following behind him.
Shelby’s attorney, Scott Wood, told CNN that the officer thought Crutcher was retrieving a weapon from his vehicle when she opened fire.
“The public information officer suggested that the officer shot Terence Crutcher because he reached inside the vehicle”, said attorney Benjamin Crump.
The shooting by Officer Betty Shelby, who pulled her gun and called for backup, was caught on camera from two angles – a police helicopter and a cruiser’s dash camera. Someone on the police radio says, “I think he may have just been tasered”.
Solomon-Simmons insisted Crutcher did not appear belligerent on the video, which he said is subjective. “Maybe on something.” Authorities said a vial of PCP was found in Crutcher’s vehicle.
Investigators have not said whether Crutcher was hit by a bullet or the Taser first.
Shelby has been placed on administrative leave. “The investigation will include a comprehensive review of the events surrounding the Friday night shooting that resulted in Mr. Crutcher’s death”. “We’re treated as, I guess, criminals suspects that they fear”, Crump said.
The FBI and Department of Justice have already announced investigations.
“We have got to tackle systemic racism”, Clinton said.
Crutcher’s twin sister, Tiffany, said her brother was a church-going man who had enrolled at Tulsa Community College to better his life. Quite the opposite, he walked away from Shelby with his hands up. The pilot was recorded saying that the 40-year-old, who was walking slowly back to his auto with his hands up at that moment, looked like “a bad dude” who “could be on something”.
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In Oklahoma, a black person is four times more likely to be killed by police than a white person, according to the organization Mapping Police Violence.
