WARNING: The video in this post is graphic and documents a violent death.
In Tulsa, Oklahoma, police have released video that shows a white police officer shooting and killing an unarmed black man. In the video, Terence Crutcher can be seen raising his hands above his head.
“The incident started as a response to a call of a stalled vehicle near 36th Street North on Friday evening,” Tulsa police told KJRH TV in Tulsa.
Tulsa's police chief confirmed today that Crutcher was not carrying a weapon on his person, nor were there any weapons in his SUV.
Tulsa's police department has opened a criminal investigation which will be reviewed by the Tulsa County district attorney. Separately, the U.S. Justice Department has opened a civil rights investigation.
Tulsa World TV published the Tulsa police department's dashcam video just after authorities released the footage.
(WARNING: This video contains graphic footage.)
From the New York Times:
During the encounter, which took place around 7:40 p.m. Friday, Terence Crutcher, 40, was shot once and killed by Betty Shelby, a Tulsa police officer since 2011, after the police received reports of an abandoned vehicle blocking a road, the department said.
Video recorded by a police helicopter and a patrol car’s dashboard camera shows Mr. Crutcher raising his hands, walking toward a car and leaning against it. He was then Tasered by one officer, Tyler Turnbough, and fatally shot by Officer Shelby, the department said, though the view from both cameras is obstructed in the moments before those actions.
Tulsa’s police chief, Chuck Jordan, said at a news conference Monday that Mr. Crutcher was unarmed and did not have a weapon in his vehicle. Shane Tuell, a police spokesman, said Officer Shelby gave a statement to homicide detectives on Monday morning. She is on paid administrative leave, the department said.
Family, north Tulsa leaders view #TerenceCrutcher fatal shooting video: https://t.co/GlrgSDgJkk pic.twitter.com/fgL3B1pqXH
— Paris Burris (@ParisBurris) September 19, 2016
Mr. Crutcher's surviving family told a local Tulsa TV news reporter they are a peaceful family who want justice. Tiffany Crutcher, the deceased man's sister, wants criminal charges filed against Betty Shelby, the Tulsa police officer who shot and killed her 40 year old brother Terence.
The family saw the video of the shooting shortly after it happened and says at no point does is show any justification on why Crutcher needed to be shot.
Family members are also angry that officers were caught on camera saying Crutcher looked a 'big bad dude.'
His family wants to make sure his worth isn't reduced to that.
"You all want to know who that 'big bad dude was?' That 'big bad dude' was my big brother. That 'big bad dude' was a father, that 'big bad dude' was a son," said Crutcher's twin sister Tiffany Crutcher.
