The Tulsa killing was the first of a string of deaths of Black men at the hands of police officers across the nation within the past week. He walks away from Shelby towards his auto.
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Shelby, 42, killed Terence Crutcher, 40, after his SUV stopped in the middle of a two-lane roadway last week.
The affidavit also indicates that Officer Shelby “cleared the driver’s side front” of Mr Crutcher’s vehicle before she began interacting with him.
Mr Crutcher’s family said he posed no threat.
Tulsa Police Chief Chuck Jordan has said that Crutcher did not have a gun on his body or in his SUV. “She knew that the vehicle had been cleared and it’s evident, from the photograph and the video, that the window was all the way up”.
She stopped behind his auto, which was a block away.
Per The Washington Post, Crutcher family attorney Benjamin Crump applauded the indictment and talked about next steps in a statement issued today.
After a few seconds, Crutcher lowers his arms, apparently to retrieve something from inside his vehicle through the driver’s side window, and at that moment Shelby shoots him and he collapses onto the pavement. The case first goes to a judge, who will decide whether there is enough evidence for a trial. “We remain optimistic that the State Attorney will now do his job, and vigorously prosecute the officer to the fullest extent of the law, bringing some form of justice to the Crutcher family”.
Protesters fill the food court chanting “Black Lives Matter” in the Oklahoma Memorial Union at the University of Oklahoma on Thursday, Sept. 22, 2016 in Norman, Okla. Prosecutors in Tulsa, Oklahoma, charged a white police officer who fatally shot an unarmed black man on a city street with first-degree manslaughter Thursday.
“This is a small victory”, Tiffany Crutcher told reporters. “Once people lose hope in our justice system, everything else falls down, and we can not afford that in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and we can not afford that in the United States of America”.
“Officer Shelby, although now charged, is presumed to be innocent until a judge or a jury determines otherwise”, Kunzweiler emphasized while announcing the warant.
In a statement Thursday, Fallin complimented Tulsa’s police chief, mayor, district attorney and citizens for helping to keep peace and order “during this hard time”. Her attorney said she was on her way to a domestic violence call when she saw Crutcher.
The shooting can be seen on two videos provided by authorities – one from a police helicopter and the other from another officer’s dashboard camera. The man warned that it was going to blow up, the caller said.
Police sergeant Dave Walker has said investigators found a vial of the drug PCP in Mr Crutcher’s vehicle.
Wood did not immediately return phone messages seeking comment about Shelby being charged. Nearly immediately, a woman’s voice yells on the radio, “Shots fired!”
The officers surround Crutcher and he suddenly drops to the ground.
“The tragic circumstances surrounding the death of Mr. Crutcher are on the hearts and minds of many people in this community”, Kunzweiler said. “It’s important to note that despite heightened tensions which seemingly beg for an emotional response and reaction, our community has demonstrated a willingness to respect the judicial process”.
USA authorities have launched a civil rights probe into the police shooting of an unarmed black man in Tulsa, captured on video that sparked renewed outrage over law enforcement’s treatment of African-Americans.
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Murphy reported from Oklahoma City.
