The head of Miami’s police union has inserted himself in the controversy over the police shooting of Terence Crutcher, a black man who was shot and killed by police last Friday. But protests have remained peaceful so far, unlike in Charlotte, North Carolina where the shooting death of a black man at the hands of police on Tuesday set off two nights of clashes between law enforcement and demonstrators. Footage from the scene does show Crutcher with his hands in the air at one point.
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“In the matter of the death of Terence Crutcher, I determine that the filing of the felony crime of manslaughter in the first degree against the Tulsa Police officer Betty Shelby is warranted”, Kunzweiler said.
Police briefings say that Crutcher wasn’t listening to what the officers were saying, but police spokeswoman Jeanne MacKenzie said that she didn’t know the reason for the shooting.
No gun was found in his vehicle, but police say they found PCP.
An officer flanking her deployed a Taser on Crutcher, who was standing facing his vehicle.
The first officer there drew her gun and began shouting commands; video shows Crutcher, hands obediently raised, begin moving back to his auto as more officers arrive, at which point the first cop inexplicably shoots him dead. A man inside a police helicopter overhead says: “That looks like a bad dude, too”.
In recent days, Crutcher’s family members have called for charges to be filed against Shelby, and lawyers representing the family have disputed claims that Crutcher reached into his vehicle moments before Shelby shot him.
Shelby told investigators “that she was in fear for her life and thought Crutcher was going to kill her”, according to an arrest affidavit.
Shelby, who joined the Tulsa Police Department in December 2011, was en route to a domestic violence call when she encountered Crutcher’s vehicle abandoned on a city street, straddling the center line.
If convicted, she faces at least four year in prison, lawyers said.
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.
“Today, we are thankful to TPD, we are thankful to Chief Jordan for providing information to the District Attorney’s office, and we are happy that charges were brought”, attorney Damario Solomon-Simmons said in a press conference.
“We will continue to be transparent and ensure the system carries out its responsibility to provide justice”.
“I don’t know why things happen in this world the way they do”, he said. Crutcher, his white shirt stained with blood, lies on the ground alone and unattended for almost two minutes before an officer puts on medical gloves and begins to examine him.
The key point will be whether or not a jury believes Officer Shelby reasonably feared for her life when Crutcher (allegedly) reached into his auto.
“The tragic circumstances surrounding the death of Mr. Crutcher are on the hearts and minds of many people in this community”, Kunzweiler said.
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“We will be out here every single day until she gets murder”, Tulsa resident Tammi Sims said.
