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Officer Found Not Guilty In Fatal Shooting Of Terence Crutcher

Michael Hafford
Last Updated May 18, 2017, 12:30 PM
Update: The police officer charged in the death of Terence Crutcher was found not guilty by a jury.
Officer Betty Shelby fatally shot Crutcher last September during a traffic stop in Tulsa, OK. Crutcher, who is Black, was unarmed at the moment. Their encounter was captured in video by a police helicopter and dashboard cameras, where he was seen walking with his hands raised. Shelby was charged with first-degree manslaughter soon after.
"Let it be known that I believe in my heart that Betty Shelby got away with murder, and I don't know what was in the mind of that jury," Joseph Crutcher, the father of the victim, told reporters after Shelby was acquitted.
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The jury was comprised of eight women and three men, according to The Associated Press. Only three were Black.
Update: September 23, 2016 Officer Shelby, the policewoman who fatally shot Crutcher last Friday, has been charged with first-degree manslaughter, NBC News reported.
Steve Kunzweiler, the Tulsa County district attorney, made the announcement at a press conference earlier today, according to NBC.
This article was originally published on September 19, 2016.
In Tulsa, OK, police fatally shot and killed unarmed Black man Terence Crutcher on September 16. Now, a video of the traffic stop and subsequent killing has been released.
One officer fired a stun gun and another a live bullet at Crutcher from extremely close range. Crutcher can be seen walking towards his stalled car with his hands raised earlier in the video. He's then surrounded by officers and shot.
Warning: The video below is extremely disturbing.
“I’m going to tell you right now, there was no gun on the suspect or in the suspect’s vehicle,” Tulsa Police Chief Chuck Jordan said Monday afternoon Monday afternoon, according to New York Daily News. “I want to assure our community and I want to assure all of you and people across the nation watching this: We will achieve justice.”
The video inspired outrage among community leaders. Morning Star Baptist Church Pastor Rodney Goss described Crutcher's behavior during the video.
“His hands were in the air from all views,” Goss told the Tulsa World. “It was not apparent at any angle from any point that he lunged, came toward, aggressively attacked, or made any sudden movements that would have been considered a threat or life-threatening toward the officer.”
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Here, lawyers describe what they heard officers say on video before shooting Crutcher.
Crutcher's family called for justice. His sister spoke at a news conference, saying that his life mattered.
Twitter reaction was swift and righteously angry.
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