Tulsa officer Betty Shelby “reacted unreasonably” when she fatally shot 40-year-old Terence Crutcher on September 16, prosecutors wrote in an affidavit filed with the charge on Thursday.
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An Oklahoma police officer charged with manslaughter in last week’s shooting death of an unarmed black man has surrendered to authorities. The National Guard has been called in to try to a head off a third night of violence.
The first officer near her deployed a Taser on Crutcher, who was at that time, standing facing his vehicle.
The possible penalty for conviction on first-degree manslaughter in Oklahoma is four years to life, according to Susan Witt, the public information officer for the district attorney’s office.
Attorney Damario Solomon-Simmons said: “We are happy that charges were brought, but let me clear – the family wants and deserves full justice”.
Tiffany Crutcher says she hopes a criminal conviction will help bring an end to the killing of innocent citizens by police.
Under Oklahoma law, a person can face a first-degree manslaughter charge if he or she kills someone “unnecessarily, either while resisting an attempt by the person killed to commit a crime or after such attempt shall have failed”, among other circumstances. Find out more about the cop who could be going to jail for killing an unarmed black man right here.
In the video, the 40-year-old man is seen with his hands up, leaning against his auto. Even the Republican presidential nominee, Donald Trump, who has declared himself “the law and order candidate” and criticized the Black Lives Matter protest movement, said he was “very, very troubled” by the incident.
Shelby opened fire when Crutcher’s “left hand goes through” the SUV window, Wood said.
Video recorded by a dashboard camera and a police helicopter shows Crutcher with his hands up, appearing to comply with police officers and leaning against his vehicle.
President Barack Obama says recent reports of unarmed African Americans being shot by police “should be a source of concern for all Americans”.
The criminal complaint against her said that her “fear resulted in her unreasonable actions which led her to shooting” Crutcher on a Tulsa highway, after his SUV broke down. “These are important steps to ensure that justice and accountability prevails”. “We will continue to be transparent and ensure the system carries out its responsibility to provide justice”.
Kunzweiler said arrangements are being made with her lawyer for Shelby to turn herself in to authorities.
Dashcam and aerial footage of the shooting and its aftermath showed Crutcher walking away from Shelby with his arms in the air.
Through her attorney Shelby has said Crutcher was behaving strangely and ignoring her commands, and she was afraid that he might be reaching for a weapon.
“Whether through peaceful demonstrations, prayer vigils or countless statements of support to the Crutcher family and the entire community, we are in this together as one Tulsa”, he said.
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The district attorney in the southern USA city of Tulsa has charged the police officer who fatally shot an unarmed black man with first-degree manslaughter.
