Officer charged in Tulsa slaying of black driver

TULSA -- Prosecutors charged a white Oklahoma police officer with first-degree manslaughter Thursday, less than a week after she fatally shot an unarmed black man in a city street.

Tulsa County District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler charged Tulsa officer Betty Shelby in the Sept. 16 shooting death of 40-year-old Terence Crutcher. Kunzweiler said arrangements were being made for Shelby to surrender to authorities.

"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.

Shelby "reacted unreasonably by escalating the situation from a confrontation with Mr. Crutcher, who was not responding to verbal commands and was walking away from her with his hands held up, becoming emotionally involved to the point that she over reacted," according to an affidavit filed with the charge.

Crutcher's twin sister said her family is pleased with the charges.

Tiffany Crutcher, speaking to reporters outside the Tulsa County Courthouse, said that while the family is grateful that charges have been filed, it wants to make sure the district attorney vigorously prosecutes the case and obtains a conviction. She added that she hopes a criminal conviction will help bring an end to the killing of innocent citizens by police.

The swift action in Tulsa stood in contrast to Charlotte, N.C., where police refused under mounting pressure Thursday to release video of the shooting of a black man this week and where the National Guard was called in to a head off a third night of violence. Demonstrations in Tulsa since Crutcher's death consistently have been peaceful.

[Read about recent fatal shootings by police across the country.]

Dash camera and aerial footage of the Tulsa shooting and its aftermath show Crutcher walking away from Shelby with his arms in the air. The footage does not offer a clear view of when Shelby fired the single shot that killed Crutcher. Her attorney has said Crutcher was not following police commands and that Shelby opened fire when the man began to reach into his SUV window.

But Crutcher's family immediately discounted that claim, saying the father of four posed no threat to the officers. They also pointed to an enlarged photo from police footage that appears to show that Crutcher's window was rolled up. And police said Crutcher did not have a gun on him or in his vehicle.

The affidavit filed Thursday also indicates that Shelby "cleared the driver's side front" of Crutcher's vehicle before she began interacting with Crutcher.

The affidavit says Shelby told police homicide investigators that "she was in fear for her life and thought Mr. Crutcher was going to kill her. When she began following Mr. Crutcher to the vehicle with her duty weapon drawn, she was yelling for him to stop and get on his knees repeatedly."

Crutcher was wearing "baggy clothes" and Shelby "was not able to see any weapons or bulges indicating a weapon was present," the affidavit states.

Among the definitions in Oklahoma for first-degree manslaughter is a killing "perpetrated unnecessarily either while resisting an attempt by the person killed to commit a crime, or after such attempt shall have failed."

The case against Shelby first goes to a judge, who will decide whether there is enough evidence for a trial.

If convicted, Shelby could face a minimum of four years in prison.

Tulsa Mayor Dewey Bartlett said police worked quickly to provide Kunzweiler with the information he needed to decide whether to charge the officer.

"I appreciate their efforts as well as the District Attorney's usual thorough evaluation of the rules of law for which we are all accountable," Bartlett said in a written statement. "These are important steps to ensure that justice and accountability prevails."

Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin, in a statement, complimented Tulsa's police chief, mayor, district attorney and citizens for helping to keep peace and order "during this difficult time." She urged Tulsa residents to be patient as the case works its way through the justice system and noted that Shelby is innocent until proved guilty.

Officer's account

Shelby, who joined the Tulsa Police Department in December 2011, was en route to a domestic-violence call when she encountered Crutcher's vehicle stalled on a city street, straddling the centerline, according to reports. Shelby did not activate her patrol car's dashboard camera, so no footage exists of what first happened between the two before other officers arrived, reports say.

The police footage shows Crutcher approaching the driver's side of the SUV, then more officers walk up and Crutcher appears to lower his hands and place them on the vehicle. A man in a police helicopter overhead says: "That looks like a bad dude, too. Probably on something."

Shelby's attorney, Scott Wood, told the Tulsa World that Shelby opened fire and another officer used a stun gun when Crutcher's "left hand goes through the car window."

Shelby thought Crutcher was behaving like someone under the possible influence of a drug, Wood told the World, noting that Crutcher ignored the officer's commands to stop reaching into his pockets. Shelby feared that Crutcher might have a gun in his pocket, Wood added.

In the videos, the officers surround Crutcher, and he suddenly drops to the ground. A voice heard on a police radio says: "Shots fired!" The officers back away, and Crutcher is left unattended in the street for about two minutes until an officer puts on medical gloves and begins to attend to him.

Police Sgt. Dave Walker has said investigators found a vial of the drug PCP in Crutcher's vehicle. Wood has said that Shelby completed drug-recognition expert training and thought Crutcher was acting like he might be under the influence of PCP.

Attorneys for Crutcher's family said family members didn't know whether drugs were found in the SUV, but that even if they were, it wouldn't justify the shooting.

Benjamin Crump, an attorney representing the Crutcher family, said reports linking Crutcher to drugs were an attempt to "intellectually justify" Crutcher's death.

"If we started to condemn everybody to death who had drugs in their system, all of our neighborhoods would be affected," he said Tuesday, calling on Tulsa police to be transparent so the public knows that authorities are "not trying to cover this up or sweep it under the rug."

A toxicology report could take several weeks, officials said.

"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 the heightened tensions felt by all, which seemingly beg for an emotional response and reaction, our community has consistently demonstrated the willingness to respect the judicial process."

At least two dozen people gathered outside the courthouse after the district attorney announced that the officer was charged. Later, a peaceful rally was held in front of City Hall. Some demonstrators expressed disappointed that Shelby wasn't charged with first-degree murder, but others considered Thursday's announcement a victory.

"Today we can say without a shadow of a doubt that the system has worked for black lives," said activist Marq Lewis, an organizer of the civil-rights group We the People Oklahoma, which led the rally in front of City Hall. "We are getting something done in Tulsa that no other city is getting done."

Information for this article was contributed by Justin Juozapavicius and Sean Murphy of The Associated Press; and by Peter Holley of The Washington Post.

A Section on 09/23/2016