Tulsa officer Betty Shelby will now face charges of first-degree manslaughter after her indictment following her fatal shooting of unarmed black man Terrence Crutcher.
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Prosecutors wrote in an affidavit filed with the charge on Thursday that Tulsa officer Betty Shelby “reacted unreasonably” when she fatally shot 40-year-old Terence Crutcher on September 16.
Prosecutors allege that “fear resulted in her unreasonable actions which led her to shooting”.
The family of 40-year-old Terence Crutcher says services will be held at 7 p.m. Saturday at Antioch Baptist Church in Tulsa.
Tulsa District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler, center, stands with Tulsa Sheriff’s deputies before a news conference, Thursday, Sept. 22, 2016 in Tulsa, Okla. Kunzweiler announced that his office has filed first degree manslaughter charges against Tulsa Police Officer Betty Shelby after the shooting death of Terence Crutcher last Friday night.
“The chain breaks here”. We’re going to break the chains of police brutality… “We know the history”.
Funeral services have been set for the Oklahoma man who was shot and killed last week by a Tulsa police officer.
Her attorney told local media she is receiving death threats.
But spokeswoman Amy Elliott says a full autopsy report and toxicology results for Terence Crutcher are not yet complete.
Kunzweiler said a warrant was issued for Shelby’s arrest and that she planned to surrender to officials, according to the Tulsa World.
Shelby’s attorney says Crutcher was acting strangely when she approached him, and Shelby thought he might be reaching for a weapon in his vehicle.
On Friday evening, Shelby responded to a call about what appeared to the caller to be an abandoned vehicle parked in the middle of the road. According to the police, he was Tasered by officer Tyler Turnbough and shot by Shelby.
She stopped behind his auto, which was a block away.
The incident was caught on police helicopter video and a dashboard camera, and footage of the tragic shooting was released Monday.
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The chief investigator said in an affidavit that Shelby then approached the auto, “cleared the driver’s side front and then proceeded toward the passenger side of the vehicle”. In the video, Crutcher can be seen with his hands raised above his head prior to his death.
