Tulsa cop charged with manslaughter

TULSA, Okla. -- A white Oklahoma police officer was charged with manslaughter Thursday in the fatal shooting of an unarmed black man whose vehicle had broken down in the middle of the street.

Prosecutors said Betty Shelby "reacted unreasonably" when she opened fire on Terence Crutcher.

The charges came just days after authorities released dashcam and aerial footage, 911 calls and police-radio traffic related to the Sept. 16 shooting.

But what actually transpired between the two remains murky.

The shooting can be seen on two videos provided by authorities -- one from a police helicopter and the other from officer Tyler Turnbough's dashboard camera.

Both show the 40-year-old Crutcher walking with his hands in the air toward his stopped SUV, which is straddling the center line.

A female officer is following him.

As Crutcher approaches the driver's side, more officers walk up, and Crutcher appears to lower his hands and place them on the vehicle.

A man inside a police helicopter overhead says: "That looks like a bad dude, too. Probably on something."

The officers surround Crutcher, and he drops to the ground suddenly.

Someone on the police radio says, "I think he may have just been Tasered."

Almost immediately, a woman's voice yells on the police radio: "Shots fired!"

Crutcher is left lying on the pavement.

The officers slowly back away.

Crutcher, his white shirt stained with blood, lies on the ground for nearly two minutes before an officer puts on medical gloves and begins to examine him.

Emergency medical responders arrive about four minutes after the gunfire.

The videos do not show what happened when Shelby first encountered Crutcher and the roughly two minutes before other officers arrived.

No dashcam footage exists from Shelby's car because she did not activate the emergency lights, which would have switched on the camera, when she came upon the abandoned vehicle in the roadway.

No body-camera footage exists, because Tulsa police have not equipped officers with the devices, despite receiving a federal grant to do so last year.

Also absent is audio that could have captured exchanges between Crutcher and Shelby.

Shelby, who was en route to a domestic-violence call, encounters the abandoned vehicle and eventually radios into dispatch, "Hold traffic. I got a subject who won't show me his hands."

No video or audio further captures what went on between Shelby and Crutcher prior to other officers showing up -- a time frame sure to be scrutinized by investigators examining the officer's claims Crutcher displayed concerning behavior not seen on the videos.

There's no close-up, unobscured view of Crutcher before Shelby fired the fatal shot.

Shelby was charged with first-degree manslaughter, which is punishable by a minimum of four years in prison.

Tulsa County District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler said arrangements were being made for the officer to surrender.

"I do not know why things happen in this world the way they do," he said. "We need to pray for wisdom and guidance."

A Tulsa police spokeswoman initially told reporters Crutcher refused requests to put his hands in the air. After the footage suggesting otherwise was released, spokeswoman Jeanne MacKenzie said she was relying on reports from officers.

Tulsa police chief Chuck Jordan has said Crutcher did not have a gun on his body or in his SUV.

Authorities have held back many details, citing the investigation, but police confirmed the discovery of the drug PCP in Crutcher's vehicle and that Shelby had a stun gun but did not use it.

Shelby's lawyer, Scott Wood, has said Crutcher repeatedly ignored Shelby's commands and did not respond to her questions.

Wood said Shelby has completed drug-recognition training and thought Crutcher was acting as if he might be under the influence of PCP.

Shelby also was concerned about Crutcher repeatedly reaching toward his pockets because a person with a weapon often touches it to make sure it's still there, Wood said.

The lawyer said she drew her handgun after Crutcher walked toward the police car's passenger side and started to put his hand in his left pocket.

Another officer arrived and drew his stun gun, the lawyer said, adding the stun gun and handgun were fired simultaneously because both officers perceived the same threat.

He said Crutcher's head was tilted, but his eyes were on Shelby. Wood said Shelby recalled Crutcher mumbling incoherently when she asked him whether the SUV belonged to him.

Shelby opened fire when Crutcher's "left hand goes through" the SUV window, Wood said.

The family and their lawyers said the video clearly shows Crutcher wasn't threatening the officers.

The lawyers also provided an enlarged photo from the police footage that appears to show the SUV's window rolled up, which would contradict Shelby's claim Crutcher was reaching inside his vehicle.

Whether Crutcher possessed or used drugs is irrelevant, the lawyers said.

"If a case like this with clear video can't be appropriately dealt with justly, then what case can be?" lawyer Damario Solomon-Simmons has said. "Once people lose hope in our justice system, everything else falls down, and we cannot afford that in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and we cannot afford that in the United States of America."

Bleed reported from Little Rock, Arkansas. Associated Press writer Justin Juozapavicius contributed to this report from Tulsa, Oklahoma.