The Tulsa police officer who fatally shot Terence Crutcher after his car broke down in the middle of the street thought the unarmed man was behaving erratically and that he may have been under the influence of PCP, the cop's attorney said.
Officer Betty Shelby, who is seen on police video firing a single fatal shot at close range at Crutcher, had recently undergone drug-recognition training and believed Crutcher was high on the dissociative sedative, attorney Scott Wood told the Tulsa World[1].
Video of the moments leading up to the shooting, however, shows Crutcher, 40, walking slowly towards his SUV with his hands high in the air in apparent compliance with the officers.
"The video shows that he was not belligerent," attorney Damario Solomon-Simmons, who is representing the Crutcher family, told The Daily News. "The video shows what the video shows. That's the great thing about video ... it has no biases," he said.
KING: Arrest the Tulsa officer who killed Terence Crutcher [2]
A police source told the Tulsa World[3] that investigators found a vial of PCP somewhere in Crutcher's car but did not determine whether he was under the influence of the drug at the time of the shooting. Tulsa police department spokesperson Leland Ashley could not confirm whether drugs were found and told the News he doesn't "know who made these statements."
Crutcher's twin sister, Tiffany Crutcher, told the News that finding the PCP is "irrelevant to the case."
"If they did (find it), that was discovered after he was shot and murdered," Tiffany Crutcher said, adding that discovering drugs is "not justification for using force."
Wood came out in defense of Shelby as the U.S. Department of Justice announced they are opening an investigation into whether civil rights were violated when Crutcher was both Tasered and shot with his hands in the air and his back to officers.
Tulsa cops fatally shoot black man during roadside investigation[4]
The Department of Justice probe is separate from the local district attorney investigation into whether Shelby was justified in shooting Crutcher. Shelby, who has been on the force since 2011, was put on paid administrative leave pending the investigation.
Shelby was the first officer to arrive to the scene around 7:40 p.m. on Friday night and wasn't "really sure what's going on" when she saw that Crutcher's SUV was straddling the center line of the northeast Tulsa road with its engine idling and its doors open, her attorney said.
Crutcher's car had broken down after he left a music appreciation class at Tulsa Community College, according to his family[5].
Wood said that Shelby radioed for backup after the father-of-four "never makes any response to her" when she asks him whether the SUV belongs to him. Wood said that Crutcher "had his head tilted down but eyes on and fixated on" Shelby.
Shelby's dash cam was never activated because she never turned on her top lights and sirens, so there is no video footage showing the two minutes that Shelby first arrived to the scene and interacted with Crutcher.
Helicopter footage and dash cam video from the squad car or a responding officer show Crutcher raising his arms and walking slowly towards the car while several officers are on the scene.
"The video shows that officers were not in any immediate danger. The video shows that Terence did not make any sudden movements," Solomon-Simmons told the News.
Crutcher is within a few feet of his car when another officer, Tyler Turnbough, deploys his Taser. Shelby simultaneously fires a single, fatal gunshot into his upper right chest. Crutcher collapses to the ground and can be seen covered in blood as he lies motionless beside his car.
Police have said that Shelby shot after Crutcher's hand was reaching inside the driver's side window but attorneys for the Crutcher family dispute that his car window was rolled down at the time of the shooting.
At a news conference on Tuesday afternoon, attorneys presented an enhanced screen grab taken from the police video showing an alleged streak of blood streaming down the window and onto the car door after Crutcher was shot. Attorneys for the Crutcher family say the image is proof that the window was closed. Ashley, the Tulsa police spokesperson, told the News that the car window was open at the time of the shooting.
"You can see it is completely up and there is blood going almost to the top of the window," said attorney Benjamin Crump, who is representing the family along with Melvin C. Hall and Solomon-Simmons. "We thought it was important to address this misinformation that has been put out for public consumption," Crump said. Crump has also represented the families of Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown.
No weapon was ever found on Crutcher or inside his car, police confirmed.
Crutcher's family continued their call for charges against Shelby.
"We're still deeply saddened and we just want justice," Tiffany Crutcher told the News. "We want for her to be held accountable and we just want for them to do what's right. Everyone saw the video."
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Send a Letter to the Editor [10]References
- ^ the Tulsa World (www.tulsaworld.com)
- ^ KING: Arrest the Tulsa officer who killed Terence Crutcher (www.nydailynews.com)
- ^ the Tulsa World (www.tulsaworld.com)
- ^ Tulsa cops fatally shoot black man during roadside investigation (www.nydailynews.com)
- ^ according to his family (www.nydailynews.com)
- ^ terence crutcher (www.nydailynews.com)
- ^ texas (www.nydailynews.com)
- ^ police shootings (www.nydailynews.com)
- ^ oklahoma (www.nydailynews.com)< /small>
- ^ Send a Letter to the Editor (www.nydailynews.com)
- ^ facebook (www.nydailynews.com)
- ^ Tweet (twitter.com)
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