And we must remember that in our justice system, officer Shelby is innocent until proven guilty.
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Crutcher’s shooting followed a long history of troubled race relations in Tulsa, dating to the city’s 1921 race riot that left about 300 black residents dead.
Shelby’s attorney said she would turn herself in to authorities.
“The chain breaks here”, Crutcher vowed.
“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”, he concluded.
Tiffany Crutcher, Terence’s twin sister, said at a press conference later Thursday that her family was pleased to learn “the officer who senselessly killed my beloved twin brother” had been charged.
Terence Crutcher, top, is pursued by police officers as he walks to an SUV in Tulsa, Okla. Never lose sight of that in any of these cases.
Convictions in police-involved fatal shootings are few and far between.
The mayor of Tulsa, Oklahoma, is commending police and prosecutors for their quick handling of the investigation into the death of an unarmed black man who was fatally shot by a white police officer.
“Despite the heightened tensions felt by all – which seemingly beg for an emotional response and reaction – our community has consistently demonstrated a willingness to respect the judicial process”.
Shelby faces between four years and life in prison if convicted. This led to the untimely death of Terence Crutcher, 40. The police officer’s attorney called it a “rush to judgment”.
But it has now emerged Officer Shelby has been accused of using excessive force twice during her career, according to KOTV.
According to an arrest affidavit, Shelby escalated the situation and over-reacted. “Mr. Crutcher kept putting his hands in his pockets and Officer Shelby kept telling him to show his hands”. On Thursday, the Associated Press reported that prosecutors in Tulsa have filed first-degree manslaughter charges against the officer.
Shelby also checked yes when asked if she had ever had a “victim protection order filed against you, or any action pending”.
“What are the male cops in the Tulsa Police Department thinking?”
Attorneys representing Crutcher’s family and an attorney for Shelby offered conflicting accounts of what happened when Shelby encountered Crutcher.
An attorney for Mr. Crutcher’s family disputes the officer’s account, saying the auto window was rolled up and that Mr. Crutcher was putting his hands on top of the vehicle.
Footage from the police vehicle’s dashcam and a helicopter circling above showed the 40-year-old approach the driver’s side door.
Tulsa’s police chief has said Crutcher was unarmed and that no weapon was found on him or in his SUV.
A vial of what appears to be PCP was found inside the vehicle, though toxicology tests are still pending.
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Crutcher was wearing “baggy clothes” but that Shelby “was not able to see any weapons or bulges indicating a weapon was present”, the affidavit states.
