The Oklahoma police officer who fatally shot an unarmed black man last week has shared her side of the incident through her attorney, ABC News reported on Wednesday.
Tulsa officer Betty Shelby fired the shot that killed Terence Crutcher who appeared to have his hands up in the air, as seen from the police dashcam and helicopter video taken near Crutcher’s vehicle, which was parked in the middle of the road.
While the Crutcher family’s attorneys claimed the window of the vehicle was up when Shelby shot Crutcher — citing blood allegedly splattered on the window — Shelby’s attorney, Scott Wood, insisted that the window was open, and that Crutcher reached into it, failing to listen to several of Shelby’s commands — prompting Shelby to fire shots.
Shelby’s attorney and the Tulsa Police Department are standing behind her story.
Wood emphasized that the encounter between Shelby and Crutcher began more than a minute before the start of the released video.
A 911 caller reported that a man was running from an abandoned SUV parked in the middle of a street. Shelby, while responding to an unrelated call, came across the SUV and found Crutcher in the middle of the road, according to Tulsa Police Chief Chuck Jordan.
According to Wood, Shelby said she thought it was odd that the SUV’s engine was still running, having initially assumed the vehicle was disabled.
Describing the actions Shelby took at that point, Wood said the officer approached the car and saw that the windows were open, and that the doors were closed — and that no one was in the car. Shelby allegedly turned around to look into the driver’s side and saw Crutcher walking toward her, the attorney said.
Shelby’s attorney alleges that Crutcher was uncooperative up to the point when the officer opened fire.
As reported by Business Insider