The police officer who shot an unarmed Terence Crutcher dead in the middle of a Tulsa highway as he walked back to his car with his hands up in September, was acquitted on Wednesday, May 17.
The jury deliberated for nearly nine hours over whether to convict Officer Betty Shelby of manslaughter in the case, which involved recordings by dash cam and helicopter of Shelby and a couple of backup officers following Crutcher with guns drawn, after receiving a report of a stalled vehicle. A verdict of not guilty was turned in by 9 p.m. / 10 p.m. ET.
The Crutcher shooting occurred in the months following several controversial killings of unarmed Black men across the nation, and served as an example for Colin Kaepernick to speak on as a rationale for protests against police violence across the NFL. Several factors contributed towards the outcry over Crutcher's shooting, including audio from the helicopter, which captured Shelby's husband profiling Crutcher as looking like a bad man, which prompted many to question what exactly about a Black man walking with his back to the officers while holding his hands over his head, would give off that impression.
Shelby would go on to state that she feared for her life as Crutcher approached and seemed to motion towards his driver's side window. On Wednesday she left the courtroom without making a statement. Crutcher's family was not happy about the verdict.
"Terence's hands were up. Terence was not an imminent threat. Terence did not attack her. Terence didn't charge at her. Terence was not the aggressor," Crutcher's sister told reporters. His father also gave a tearful response to the decision, stating, "Let it be known that I believe in my heart that Betty Shelby got away with murder. I have four grandchildren that are at home now, that have lost their daddy."
Source: usatoday.com
