{"id":49989,"date":"2016-09-22T21:30:24","date_gmt":"2016-09-23T01:30:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/?p=49989"},"modified":"2016-09-22T21:30:47","modified_gmt":"2016-09-23T01:30:47","slug":"tulsa-police-officer-will-face-manslaughter-charge-in-unarmed-mans-death-facebook-twitter-google-email","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/?p=49989","title":{"rendered":"Tulsa Police Officer Will Face Manslaughter Charge In Unarmed Man’s Death Facebook Twitter Google+ Email"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Terence Crutcher was shot and killed by police in Tulsa., Okla., on Friday, in a case that has prompted a Justice Department investigation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Tulsa Police<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Betty Shelby, the Tulsa Police Department officer who shot and killed Terence Crutcher, is being charged with first-degree manslaughter in the case, Tulsa County District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler says.<\/p>\n

Kunzweiler announced the charge Thursday afternoon, six days after Crutcher died in a controversial encounter <\/a>that was captured on video by a police helicopter camera and dashboard cameras.<\/p>\n

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AP \u2022 \u00a0Tulsa, Okla., police Officer Betty Shelby, seen here in an
\nundated official photo, is being charged with first-degree
\nmanslaughter in the death of Terence Crutcher.<\/h5>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

“A warrant has been issued for her arrest,” and arrangements are being made with Shelby’s attorney for Shelby’s surrender, Kunzweiler said in announcing the felony charge (see video from local TV news KJRH<\/a>). He said he had instructed his staff to file charges against Shelby at the start of Thursday’s brief news conference.<\/p>\n

Shelby will be taken into custody by the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Department, Kunzweiler added.<\/p>\n

Saying that Crutcher’s death “was on the hearts and minds of many people in this community,” Kunzweiler praised the residents of Tulsa, saying the community “has consistently demonstrated a willingness to respect the judicial process.”<\/p>\n

Here’s how we described the case earlier this week:<\/p>\n

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“Crutcher, who was black, died next to his SUV that had stopped in the middle of a two-lane road in Tulsa, Okla. Seconds before he was shot, police dashcam and helicopter footage shows, he had walked to his car with his hands held over his head as Officer Betty Shelby walked behind him, her gun raised.<\/p>\n

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“Shelby, who is white, was one of four police officers who were standing at the rear bumper of Crutcher’s car as he stood next to his vehicle around 7:45 p.m. Friday. She’s also the officer who shot him once, in the upper body \u2014 and who then radioed, “Shots fired.” Police say another officer used his Taser on Crutcher at nearly the same time he was shot.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

When the Tulsa Police Department released police videos of the moments around Crutcher’s death, Chief Chuck Jordan said the footage was “very disturbing; it’s very difficult to watch.”<\/p>\n

We’ll post one of those videos here, with the warning that the contents are graphic.<\/p>\n