Oklahoma cop Betty Shelby — who fatally shot unarmed African-American male Terrance Crutcher in Tulsa and was charged with manslaughter — blamed him for his own death and said that “race was not a factor” during a new 60 Minutes interview, reports CBS News.
From CBS News:
The police dash-cam and helicopter videotapes show Crutcher, [40] walking back to his vehicle [on Sept. 16, 2016] while, Shelby says, she was ordering him to stop. She says she suspected he was intoxicated because of his “zombie like” ” demeanor. An autopsy found the drug PCP in his system. A vial of the drug was found in the door pocket of his car. The video shows Crutcher had his hands up for much of the encounter, but Shelby fired at him, she says, when he reached into his car. “What I based everything on was his actions, his behaviors. Race had nothing to do with my decision making,” she says.
Six days after the shooting and before the police investigation was concluded, the Tulsa district attorney charged Shelby with manslaughter, alleging she overreacted.
Tiffany Crutcher is Terence Crutcher’s twin sister. “Of course, she’s saying everything that she’s supposed to say to defend herself. What we saw on that video is what my dad always taught my brothers, taught us to do if we were pulled over by a police officer,” says Crutcher. “Put your hands in the air and put your hands on the car. And my brother did what my father taught us. “We need our men and women in blue. But at the end of the day, they’re not warriors. They’re supposed to be our guardians,” Crutcher tells [Bill] Whitaker on 60 Minutes.
The 60 Minutes segment with Shelby — who will face criminal trial in May — will air on April 2, reports the New York Daily News.
SOURCE: CBS News, New York Daily News
SEE ALSO:
Terence Crutcher: Family Responds To Report About PCP In His System
Terence Crutcher’s Death Ruled A Homicide By Medical Examiner In Preliminary Report
‘Race Not A Factor:’ Oklahoma Cop Betty Shelby Blames Terence Crutcher For His Death was originally published on newsone.com
