TULSA, Okla. (AP) — A white Oklahoma police officer who fatally shot an unarmed black man last year was found not guilty Wednesday of first-degree manslaughter.
Jurors deliberated for just over nine hours before finding Tulsa officer Betty Jo Shelby not guilty in the Sept. 16 shooting of 40-year-old Terence Crutcher. Shelby said she fired her weapon out of fear because she said he didn't obey her commands to lie on the ground and appeared to reach inside his SUV for what she thought was a gun. Crutcher was unarmed.
Prosecutors told jurors that Shelby overreacted. They noted Crutcher had his hands in their air and wasn't combative — part of which was confirmed by police video taken from a dashboard camera and helicopter that showed Crutcher walking away from Shelby, hands held above his head.
Crutcher was found to have PCP in his system and they found a vial of PCP in the SUV, but they found no gun. He had his had above his head when she shot him.
Another killer gets allowed to walk free.
RIP Crutcher