Dashcam video shows the moment unarmed pastor was shot dead by police after they tasered him – despite having his hands in the air
September 19, 2016 in News by RBN Staff
Source: Daily Mail | By DAILYMAIL.COM REPORTER
- Terence Crutcher was first tasered by officer Tyler Turnbough and then fatally shot by officer Betty Shelby on Friday night in Tulsa, Oklahoma
- Police released footage of the shooting on Monday
- It shows Crutcher with his hands in the air as he is surrounded by four cops
- After speaking with him for a few seconds Shelby shoots, firing one shot
- Crutcher had no weapon in his possession, police confirmed
- Shelby has been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation
Tulsa police have released devastating dashboard camera footage of the fatal shooting of a local pastor Friday night, showing he was unarmed and had his hands in the air at the time of his death.
Terence Crutcher was first tasered by Tulsa officer Tyler Turnbough and then shot once by officer Betty Shelby before he died in the hospital on Friday, police spokesperson Jeanne MacKenzie said.
Police said that Crutcher approached the officers after his SUV broke down on the road, but refused commands to raise his hands and reached inside the vehicle.
However the footage, which was released Monday, shows Crutcher did have his hands up as police approached. It shows four officers surrounding Crutcher by his car when one of them – identified as Shelby – shot him.
Footage released Monday shows Terence Crutcher broken down and with his hands in the air as police approached him on Friday. He was shot dead at the scene by a female officer
Four police officers are seen surrounding Crutcher by his car. One of the officers, Betty Shelby, discharged her weapon. The shot killed Crutcher , who is seen here lying on the ground
Gunned down: Terence Crutcher, 40, pictured with his twin sister, Tiffany, was shot dead by a police officer in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Friday
Shelby was placed on paid administrative leave following the shooting.
Chief Chuck Jordan said he found the video ‘very disturbing — very difficult to watch.’
He also explained some of the basic facts, including that no gun was found on Crutcher or in his vehicle. He did not elaborate because of what he called a pending criminal investigation.
‘It will come out,’ Jordan said of the details surrounding the fatal shooting, Tulsa World reported.
‘I will make this promise to you: We will achieve justice in this case.’
The investigation will focus on whether Shelby’s action were justified or excessive.
Cops: Crutcher was first tasered by Tulsa officer Tyler Turnbough (left) and then fatally shot once by officer Betty Shelby (right)
Police work the scene of Terence Crutcher’s shooting in Tulsa, where they say the 40-year-old had ignored repeated requests to put up his hands before reaching into his SUV
Lingering questions: Authorities haven’t yet said whether Crutcher had a weapon when he was shot Friday while reaching into his stalled SUV
Jordan also said Monday that officers found no weapon on Crutcher or inside his vehicle.
Meanwhile, family members and community leaders who have viewed the footage said it clearly shows that Crutcher’s hands were in the air when he was shot.
‘We saw that Terence did not have any weapon. Terence did not make any sudden movements. We saw that Terence was not being belligerent,’ one of the attorneys for the family, Damario Solomon-Simmons, said at a news conference separate from one police held.
U.S. Attorney Danny C. Williams said the Department of Justice will conduct a separate civil rights investigation into the shooting.
‘The Justice Department is committed to investigating allegations of force by law enforcement officers and will devote whatever resources are necessary to ensure that all allegations of serious civil rights violations are fully and completely investigated,’ he said.
Tulsa Police Sgt. Shane Tuell confirmed that relatives were shown the recordings Sunday ahead of the planned public release.
‘We wanted them to see it before it was released so they wouldn’t be blindsided by it,’ Tuell said. ‘We wanted to be able to have that intimate time with them, with their attorney, to see if they had any questions or concerns.
‘With something of this magnitude, we’re trying an approach that we believe is necessary to further that transparency.’
Crutcher (left and right) had left class at Tulsa Community College Friday night when his SUV stalled in the street
Heartbroken: Attorney Damario Solomon-Simmons, left, comforts Tiffany Crutcher, twin sister of Terence Crutcher. At right is Rev. Joey Crutcher, her and Terence’s father
Crutcher’s twin sister, Tiffany Crutcher, told reporters Saturday that the family is heartbroken.
‘We just want answers, we want to know what happened, there’s a lot of speculation, but there is one thing, one fact that I do know is that my brother was unarmed,” she said. ‘I’m just devastated.’
She said her brother had left a class at Tulsa Community College when his SUV stalled on East 36th Street North at around 8pm.
An attorney for the Crutcher family, Damario Solomon-Simmons told reporters Saturday that Crutcher was in the area because his car stalled and officers saw him while on an unrelated call and approached.
‘From that point, I do not know what occurred. We have no idea, and that’s what is so difficult for us and the family,’ Solomon-Simmons said. ‘That’s our job, to try to get answers for this family as they’re mourning.’
Jeanne MacKenzie, the Tulsa police spokesperson, said an officer responding to another call saw the vehicle in the middle of the road and called for backup, and the two officers were walking toward the SUV when Crutcher approached them from the side of the road.
Police say Crutcher (left and right) refused to follow commands to raise his hands. His sister said her sibling was unarmed
‘He refused to follow commands given by the officers,’ MacKenzie said. ‘They continued to talk to him, he continued not to listen and follow any commands.’
Officer Shelby, who fired the fatal shot, has been placed on routine paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.
The results of the probe will be sent to Tulsa County District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler, who will determine whether the shooting was justified.
‘It’s obviously a very high-profile matter,’ Kunzweiler said Sunday, while declining to comment about the Crutcher case.
Tulsa Police Sergeant Shane Tuell said they allowed community leaders to view the footage because he didn’t want people to be ‘blindsided’ by it.
‘We wanted to be able to have that intimate time with them, with their attorney, to see if they had any questions or concerns,’ he said. ‘With something of this magnitude, we’re trying an approach that we believe is necessary to further that transparency.’
Online court records show Terrence Crutcher of Tulsa with the same date of birth as the man who was killed pleaded no contest in 1996 to carrying a concealed weapon and resisting an officer and was given a six-month suspended sentence.
His only other court records were for traffic violations, the most recent occurring in 2005.
