Tulsa Police Officer Charged With First-Degree Manslaughter in the Death of Terence Crutcher

By Bobby Finger  |  September 22, 2016 | 9:00pm
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The AP reports that Tulsa County District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler has filed first-degree manslaughter charges against Betty Shelby, the police officer who shot and killed Terence Crutcher on September 16. Crutcher was filmed “walking away from Shelby with his arms in the air” unarmed in the moments before he was killed.

In a piece by ABC News detailing the incident, Shelby’s attorney revealed that she thought it was “strange” that Crutcher put his hands in the air without being instructed to do so.

They write:

[Shelby’s attorney Scott Wood] said that Shelby then said to Crutcher, “Hey, is this your car?”
Crutcher didn’t respond, simply dropping his head while continuing to look at Shelby, “kind of under his brow,” Wood said. Crutcher then began to put his hand into his left pocket, Wood said, adding that Shelby told Crutcher, “Hey, please keep your hands out of your pocket while you’re talking to me. Let’s deal with his car.”
Crutcher did not respond, Wood said, so Shelby ordered him again to get his hand out of his pocket. He then pulled his hand away and put his hands up in the air, even though he was not instructed to do so, which Shelby found strange, Wood said.

BuzzFeed reports authorities are currently working with Wood “to bring her into custody.”

 
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