Tulsa Police Officer Kills Unarmed Motorist with Hands Up(Graphic Warning)

Dash cam footage shows the fatal police shooting of Terence Crutcher in Tulsa, Oklahoma. WARNING: Video contains graphic footage. Viewer discretion is advised. Video by Mic

Terence Crutcher, a Tulsa, Oklahoma, man who was fatally shot by a police officer last week, was not armed, nor was a weapon found in his SUV, the city’s police chief said Monday.

Police Chief Chuck Jordan said no weapon was recovered from the scene of the shooting, after a white officer shot and killed the 40-year-old black man. Jordan didn’t volunteer more details about the shooting.

Following Monday’s news conference, the Tulsa Police Department released the dash cam video of the confrontation, Tulsa World reported. (WARNING: Video above contains graphic footage.)

Responding to reports of a stalled vehicle Friday night, two officers found Crutcher nearby his vehicle, police spokeswoman Jeanne MacKenzie said at a news conference Saturday. MacKenzie said Crutcher failed to follow repeated commands from the officers.

“As [the officers] got closer to the vehicle, [Crutcher] reached inside the vehicle and at that time there was a Taser deployment and a short time later there was one shot fired,” she told reporters.

Crutcher later died that night at a local hospital.

On Sunday, police identified Betty Shelby as the officer who shot her weapon, Tulsa World reported. Officer Tyler Turnbough deployed his Taser.

In one of the videos released today, Crutcher can be seen with his hands up as he walks toward his SUV as several officers approach him. However, once Crutcher appears to put his hands on the vehicle, it’s difficult to make out what is happening as the officers surround him.

At one point, Crutcher can be seen collapsing to the ground. Overheard in the video is police radio chatter that says, “I think he may have just been Tasered.” Shortly after, someone is heard saying “Shots fired,” a statement that’s repeated on the police radio as well.

In another video from Tulsa police’s helicopter camera, someone is heard saying that Crutcher looked like a “bad dude.”

WARNING: Video contains graphic footage. Viewer discretion is advised. Video by Tulsa World

The Justice Department said today it has opened a civil rights probe into the shooting, after the Tulsa police chief contacted the agency over the weekend to help with the investigation.

Tulsa police released the video footage of the shooting to select community leaders and family members prior to its release to the public.

Crutcher’s sister, Tiffany, has demanded that criminal charges by filed against the officer who took her brother’s life. Tiffany has also asked for peaceful protests following Crutcher’s death, the Associated Press reported.

Damario Solomon-Simmons, the family’s lawyer, said the footage showed that Crutcher didn’t make any sudden movements. Solomon-Simmons also questioned some of the claims made in police statements about the timing of Crutcher’s death.

 On Sunday, Rodney Goss, a pastor in north Tulsa who was able to view the footage beforehand, told Tulsa World that Crutcher’s “hands were in the air from all views.”

After an officer shot Crutcher, “a couple minutes it appears, but it seemed like a lifetime, went by before anyone actually checked with him as far as pulse — as far as whatever the case may be,” he added.

JOSHUA BARAJAS 
pbs.org/newshour/rundown/tulsa-police