Shelby’s attorney, Scott Wood, said Friday that Shelby is trained in “de-escalation” and that she had been selected to train new officers at the Tulsa Police Department. He says Shelby was so caught up in the encounter with Crutcher that she didn’t realize backup officers had arrived.
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A still from the helicopter camera that recorded Shelby shooting Terence Crutcher on September 16. “As we continue to grapple with an epidemic of police brutality and killings that disproportionately affect people of color, we must not assume the conversation and the move towards desperately needed criminal justice and policing reforms ends today”.
Funeral services have been set for the Oklahoma man who was shot and killed last week by a Tulsa police officer. They released the videos, one of which was taken from a police helicopter and the other from a dashboard camera in a patrol vehicle, in a bid for transparency.
Tulsa’s commitment to transparency must be matched by a commitment to fundamental changes in how police interact with communities of color. “Not only for this family, not only for Terence, but to be a deterrent for law officers all around this nation to know that you can not kill unarmed citizens”.
The manslaughter charge against Officer Shelby is welcomed and appropriate.
Via The Guardian, the district attorney’s chief investigator on the case, Doug Campbell, stated that Shelby “reacted unreasonably by escalating the situation”.
If convicted, Shelby faces between four years and life in prison. She shot with her gun instead of her stun gun because she thought he was armed. The pair eventually asked the judge to dismiss restraining orders filed by both Shelby and her ex-boyfriend against each other.
The footage shows Crutcher approaching the driver’s side of the SUV, then more officers walk up and Crutcher appears to lower his hands and place them on the vehicle. “A voice in the helicopter was also heard saying that Crutcher “(looked) like a bad dude” and that he “might be on something”.
Police Sgt. Dave Walker has said investigators found a vial of PCP in Crutcher’s vehicle.
According to Wood, Shelby was completely focused on Crutcher.
In the videos, the officers surround Crutcher, who suddenly drops to the ground. The officers back away and Crutcher is left unattended for about two minutes before an officer attends to him. Shelby is a nine-year veteran of law enforcement, having served from 2007 to 2011 as a Tulsa County sheriff’s deputy before becoming a Tulsa city police officer in December 2011.
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Kunzweiler, the Tulsa prosecutor, emphasized that, “despite the heightened tensions felt by all, which seemingly beg for an emotional response and reaction, our community has consistently demonstrated the willingness to respect the judicial process”.
