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Eugene

(61,899 posts)
Sat Mar 2, 2019, 04:29 AM Mar 2019

DOJ: No civil rights charge in deadly Tulsa police shooting

Source: Associated Press

March 1, 2019

TULSA, Okla. (AP) — There is insufficient evidence to pursue federal civil rights charges against a white former Tulsa police officer who shot and killed an unarmed black man, the Department of Justice said Friday.

U.S. Attorney Trent Shores announced the closure of the investigation into whether Betty Shelby willfully used unreasonable force against Terence Crutcher when she shot and killed him in September 2016.

“The Department of Justice devoted significant resources to this investigation to ensure that a thorough review was undertaken. Attorneys from both the Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office worked closely with the FBI to examine the evidence and review applicable law,” Shores said in a statement.

A Tulsa County jury acquitted Shelby in May 2017 in the shooting death of Crutcher, who was holding his hands above his head when he was shot. Shelby testified she fired her weapon out of fear because Crutcher didn’t obey her commands and appeared to reach inside his SUV for what she thought was a gun. Crutcher was unarmed.

-snip-


Read more: https://apnews.com/e8b98d48130a4426b193a514280320d5

11 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
DOJ: No civil rights charge in deadly Tulsa police shooting (Original Post) Eugene Mar 2019 OP
The cops rolled the window down before crime scene photos were taken exboyfil Mar 2019 #1
Disgusting lack of justice. sinkingfeeling Mar 2019 #2
Ya but to bring federal charges don't they need to have pretty solid evidence that a cstanleytech Mar 2019 #9
Betty Shelby is still a cop DirtEdonE Mar 2019 #3
i think i saw a video of this. barbtries Mar 2019 #4
I suspect the uniform had more to do with the acquittal as people while young are cstanleytech Mar 2019 #10
Here is the video from Washington Post. OnlinePoker Mar 2019 #5
That was an.... Wuddles440 Mar 2019 #6
She shot him with his hands up in the air. dalton99a Mar 2019 #7
Well ... LenaBaby61 Mar 2019 #8
She is White and he was Black. Cold War Spook Mar 2019 #11

exboyfil

(17,863 posts)
1. The cops rolled the window down before crime scene photos were taken
Sat Mar 2, 2019, 04:37 AM
Mar 2019

I am convinced from the video from the helicopter.

Instead of rendering aid they did a half assed impersonation of Dorothy, the Scarecrow, and the Cowardly Lion and walked backwards until they were out of the view of the dashcam.

cstanleytech

(26,291 posts)
9. Ya but to bring federal charges don't they need to have pretty solid evidence that a
Sun Mar 3, 2019, 05:05 PM
Mar 2019

federal crime itself was committed?

 

DirtEdonE

(1,220 posts)
3. Betty Shelby is still a cop
Sat Mar 2, 2019, 09:35 AM
Mar 2019

Disgusting.

"Betty Shelby, a white officer who worked for the Tulsa Police Department at the time, said she shot Terence Crutcher in September 2016 in self-defense because she thought he was reaching into his car for what might have been a weapon. Video of the episode showed Mr. Crutcher holding his hands above his head when he was shot."

...

"Ms. Shelby was found not guilty of manslaughter in connection with Mr. Crutcher’s death in Tulsa County District Court in May 2017. She was placed on paid administrative leave after the shooting and left the Police Department after she was acquitted.

Soon after, she began working as a reserve deputy for the Rogers County Sheriff’s Office, about 30 miles from Tulsa, the sheriff, Scott Walton, said in an interview.

Last week she became a full-time employee stationed at the courthouse, the sheriff said. He said he had “no reservations whatsoever about hiring her.”"

Read more if you can stand it:
Tulsa Police Officer Who Killed Unarmed Black Man Won’t Face Civil Rights Charges
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/01/us/betty-shelby-terence-crutcher-tulsa.html

barbtries

(28,795 posts)
4. i think i saw a video of this.
Sat Mar 2, 2019, 11:07 AM
Mar 2019

i think she murdered him.

as horrifying as it is sometimes i wish these rulings would just say, she's acquitted because she's a white police officer and her victim is just another black dude. or, this is not a civil rights violation because hey, black people don't have rights.

#RacismSucks

cstanleytech

(26,291 posts)
10. I suspect the uniform had more to do with the acquittal as people while young are
Sun Mar 3, 2019, 05:08 PM
Mar 2019

often taught and told that the police can be trusted thus in cases like that it helps them walk on cases that you would think would lead to a guilty verdict.

Wuddles440

(1,123 posts)
6. That was an....
Sat Mar 2, 2019, 11:44 AM
Mar 2019

obvious execution. Note the number of police officers (4) on one side of the vehicle with guns drawn - none moving to secure the other side of the vehicle per normal protocols. Simply a firing squad.

dalton99a

(81,496 posts)
7. She shot him with his hands up in the air.
Sat Mar 2, 2019, 12:11 PM
Mar 2019
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2018/08/28/she-fatally-shot-an-unarmed-black-man-now-shes-teaching-other-cops-how-to-survive-such-incidents/

She fatally shot an unarmed black man. Now she’s teaching other police officers how to ‘survive’ such incidents.
By Isaac Stanley-Becker
August 28, 2018

She calls it “The Ferguson Effect.”

Two years after she fatally shot an unarmed black man in Tulsa, Betty Jo Shelby, now a police officer in an adjacent county, is teaching a course on how to “survive such events” — legally, emotionally and physically. The course, as she explained it to a local ABC affiliate, equips officers to withstand the effect — named for the Missouri city convulsed by the 2014 shooting of a black teenager — “when a police officer is victimized by anti-police groups and tried in the court of public opinion.”

LenaBaby61

(6,974 posts)
8. Well ...
Sun Mar 3, 2019, 04:53 PM
Mar 2019

I expected nothing LESS from the reddest of the red state of Oklahoma. One of the most backwards places in this country. You have many teachers there, who while striking for a pay increase, are STILL supportive of their Dear Leader, fatso J. tRump.

 

Cold War Spook

(1,279 posts)
11. She is White and he was Black.
Mon Mar 4, 2019, 08:29 AM
Mar 2019

She was afraid he was going to rape her. (sarcasm) I don't know how to use those thingamajigs.

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