First-degree manslaughter charge against officer in fatal shooting of Terence Crutcher

[alp227]

Source: Tulsa World

District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler has directed his staff to file a first-degree manslaughter charge against Officer Betty Shelby in the fatal shooting of Terence Crutcher.

A warrant has been issued for her arrest and arrangements made for her surrender.

Kunzweiler filed the charge after reviewing dash cam video and helicopter video that captured the shooting. He also reviewed citizen 911 calls, witness interviews and other evidence, according to a news release from the District Attorney's Office.

"Officer Shelby, although now charged, is presumed to be innocent under the law until a judge or jury determines otherwise," the release states.

Read more: http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/local/district-attorney-filing-first-degree-manslaughter-charge-against-officer-in/article_e5cc9bee-6300-5f1f-bc0b-e45dd7fd356f.html

[merrifield]

1. Maybe this can be the start of the end

Maybe this can be the start of the end of these needless, reckless killings. If more cops are held accountable, I hope others will be more cautious and less trigger happy.

[cstanleytech]

6. Holding them responsible is important but the best way to fix it

is to weed the bad ones out while redoing the criteria for selecting police officers as well as extending their training.
Afterall this isnt some mall cop security job this is a job that requires the person doing it to be able to make sound judgement calls, common sense and that knows when force is appropriate and when its not.

[Baclava]

2. For this to come down this fast, the other cops must not have supported her story.

It was a bad shoot. She had back-up, was in no danger. She deserves jailtime.

[avebury]

31. Another factor to consider is that recently a white male

Tulsa County Reserve Deputy shot and killed a man. He thought that he was pulling out his taser. Oops!

He was charged and he is now doing time.

This was not the area's first time at this rodeo.

[SCVDem]

37. Not a front line cop

Just wannabe.

She has her lawyer bragging about her training.

[erpowers]

3. The Right Move

This is the right move. She needed to be brought up on manslaughter charges because she shot and killed Terence Crutcher, but she did not commit the act with extreme malice.

[Maraya1969]

7. How do you know it was without malice? Looked to me like the man was in control by the force.

What possible reason could she have had to shoot the man other than to kill him? He was not in anyway a danger.

[christx30]

8. Startled by the taser going off? Pulled the trigger out of reflex more than

anything else. That's my theory, at least. Not in any way excusing her at all. People that twitch and kill someone shouldn't ever be in a place to do that. She deserves to be charge. Let's hope there is a good jury that'll look at the evidence and not just see the badge.

[Solomon]

9. Jesus Christ on a cracker. Is there no end to

the absurd stretches white people resort to to excuse these killings? My God. The lengths you all go through are just stunning.

[christx30]

10. I'm not excusing her at all. She deserves to be convicted of

manslaughter. She shouldn't have been a cop in the first place if this is how she conducts herself. She was terrified of nothing, and it got a man killed.

[LanternWaste]

12. No, not an excuse. However, it is a rationalization

No, not an excuse. However, it is a rationalization to better minimize her actions.

[Yo_Mama]

18. I don't understand how you think that - OK law is pretty specific.

A manslaughter charge isn't minimization. From the little I know, the shooting was not a reasonable use of force, and obviously the locals believe it wasn't.

But murder requires intent, and in circumstances such as these, it appears to me that it would be impossible to convict.

The problem is that the officer (until firing) was performing pretty standard duties which do require situational interpretation. You tell me how:
http://www.oscn.net/applications/OCISWeb/deliverdocument.asp?citeID=69297

A. A person commits murder in the first degree when that person unlawfully and with malice aforethought causes the death of another human being. Malice is that deliberate intention unlawfully to take away the life of a human being, which is manifested by external circumstances capable of proof.

There's no way to prove malice here. There's no evidence of malice. You can't convict, and in fact if charged only of first degree murder, the officer's lawyer could move for dismissal.

Under OK law, homocide is:

§21692. Homicide classified.

Homicide is either:

1. Murder;

2. Manslaughter;

3. Excusable homicide; or,

4. Justifiable homicide.

We can dismiss the last two.

Murder in the 2nd:

§21-701.8. Murder in the second degree.

Homicide is murder in the second degree in the following cases:

1. When perpetrated by an act imminently dangerous to another person and evincing a depraved mind, regardless of human life, although without any premeditated design to effect the death of any particular individual; or

2. When perpetrated by a person engaged in the commission of any felony other than the unlawful acts set out in Section 1, subsection B, of this act.

Added by Laws 1976, 1st Ex.Sess., c. 1, § 2, eff. July 24, 1976.

There is no evidence of a depraved mind in this act - up until the shot, the officer is performing her duties.

Manslaughter it appears can be proved:

R.L.1910, § 2317.

§21711. Manslaughter in the first degree defined.

Homicide is manslaughter in the first degree in the following cases:

1. When perpetrated without a design to effect death by a person while engaged in the commission of a misdemeanor.

2. When perpetrated without a design to effect death, and in a heat of passion, but in a cruel and unusual manner, or by means of a dangerous weapon; unless it is committed under such circumstances as constitute excusable or justifiable homicide.

3. When perpetrated unnecessarily either while resisting an attempt by the person killed to commit a crime, or after such attempt shall have failed.
...
§21716. Manslaughter in the second degree.

Every killing of one human being by the act, procurement or culpable negligence of another, which, under the provisions of this chapter, is not murder, nor manslaughter in the first degree, nor excusable nor justifiable homicide, is manslaughter in the second degree.

[christx30]

26. Someone jumping at shadows and kills someone

isn't forgiven, or given any kind of break, and they shouldn't be. She screwed up major, and she needs to pay for that mistake. I'm not minimizing her at all. I just don't think she should have been a cop. That was my contention. She made a mistake by becoming a cop, and that mistake is going to take a chunk of her life too.

[erpowers]

43. Should Not Have Been a Police Officer

There are a number of people who should not be Police Officers. This woman is one of them. I think she panicked and shot him because she was scared out of her mind. No, she did not have a real reason to shoot him, but she was still fearful of a threat at that moment. That is why I say there was no extreme malice. I do not think she killed him just for the hell of it; I think she was a person who was scared of her own shadow and like the groundhog on Groundhog Day she saw her shadow. Instead of running away and going back into her hole; she started shooting.

[Iggo]

4. "...presumed to be innocent under the law..."

Must be nice...

[Granny M]

5. Rich, isn't it? nt

[Feeling the Bern]

24. Except if you're black, poor, or Muslim.

[BumRushDaShow]

14. Here is the problem with the "PCP" argument

I hear this excuse often when cops are gunning down POC who appear to be acting irrationally - and even some who are not acting anything at all but standing there.

Whenever you hear about big drug busts and so forth, you almost NEVER hear about "PCP" ("angel dust&quot being confiscated. It was something that may have been popular 30 - 40 years ago but it's just not that common compared to all the other stuff out there -

PCP use is waning.

Fact. PCP was once much more popular than it is now — in 1979, 7% of high school seniors reported having taken it in the past year, while less than 1% do today. However, there are still regions where it remains common. These tend to be high poverty, high crime areas in big East Coast cities such as Washington, DC, Baltimore and Philadelphia. In these cities, about 10% of people who are arrested test positive for the drug, now known as “wet” because it is an oily liquid— typically, people soak marijuana in it in order to smoke it.

http://healthland.time.com/2013/08/28/myths-and-facts-about-angel-dust-did-pcp-drive-aaron-hernandez-to-commit-murder/

[BumRushDaShow]

13. The whole group of them need to be fired

When you listen to the police commentary on the helicopter video, you hear one say -

"We gotta taser 'that thing'"

and another "Yeah, he looks like a bad dude... might be on something".

As has been noted on DU various times, POC are considered "things" or "animals" or "sub-human" or other nonsense, by far too many whites, including LEOs.

When you are envisioned and internalized by someone with power, as being a "thing" or other inanimate object, it makes it very easy to pull the trigger or otherwise treat you in a disparate manner. It's just like stepping on an ant and having no regret for doing so.

I expect some may blink a few times and briefly return to a non-brainwashed reality after the fact, exclaiming to themselves - oh wait...what did I...?, but by then it's too late, the execution is done, and they bagged their trophy.

[uppityperson]

17. The OP makes me glad as she should be. Your post shows that it isn't enough at all.

It's a start, but not enough as the attitude shown by those others is appalling.

[ET Awful]

20. While I agree that all involved are f'ed up, he does NOT say "that thing" he says

"time for a taser I think". You can distinctly hear the "k" at the end.

[madokie]

15. Tulsa jury

Last edited Thu Sep 22, 2016, 09:21 PM - Edit history (1)

recently sent a reserve deputy to the prison for 4 years. Robert Bates shot and killed Eric Harris.
This lady will see a jail cell too I'm thinking.
The good folks of north Tulsa are handling this is the appropriate manner. Getting mad but not getting stupid. My hat is off to the Black Community of Tulsa

Terrence Crutcher can't be brought back to life but his death can be a clarion call for things to change from shoot first to lets talk. From fear to respect

ETA:

Posted: Wednesday, June 1, 2016 12:00 am

Former Reserve Deputy Robert Bates sentenced to four years in prison for death of Eric Harris

A Tulsa County judge on Tuesday followed a jury’s recommendation to order the maximum punishment of four years in prison for former Tulsa County Reserve Sheriff’s Deputy Robert Bates, who was convicted of second-degree manslaughter last month.

At the conclusion of a nearly four-hour long hearing with testimony from nine witnesses and statements from Bates himself, District Judge William Musseman’s order drew reactionary cries from the packed courtroom.

The sentencing came about a month after a jury found 74-year-old Bates guilty of the charge, which asserts that he was culpably negligent in mistaking his gun for a Taser and fatally shooting 44-year-old Eric Harris, who was unarmed and the target of an undercover gun-sale operation, on April 2, 2015.

Musseman decided the punishment based not only on the jury’s recommendation but also a presentencing investigation conducted after the trial, in addition to statements made by family members and others in support of each side.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/homepagelatest/former-reserve-deputy-robert-bates-sentenced-to-four-years-in/article_ec042b6d-11d2-5ee1-95d9-cf9e5ee78aba.html

[TexasBushwhacker]

38. Yup, minimum sentence for man 1 in OK is 4 years

And I find her far more culpable than than Robert Bates. He was just an rich old man who wanted to play cops and robbers. He never should have been allowed to carry a firearm while on "duty". I think the sheriff's department was more at fault and I hope they paid dearly for it.

BTW, the maximum sentence for first degree manslaughter is LIFE. It's also an 85% offense, meaning they have to serve 85% of the sentence before being eligible for parole.

[Trust Buster]

16. You would have to be a fool to want to be a police officer in today's world.

[alphafemale]

19. How's that? They get away with murder and assault and rape more often than not.

Yeah. Some of them are inconvenienced by a trial now and then.

But they can generally murder, assault or rape any one they want without any consequences.

Including sleeping babies and children and 90 year grandmothers when they have raided the wrong damn house.

What is so oppressive about being able to kill, assault and rape and not ever face consequences?

[Calista241]

33. Why's that? The pay is pretty high.

Some infinitesimal minority of them are involved in a shooting during their careers. In exchange for that risk, they are pretty highly paid.

[RobinA]

36. Couldn't Agree More

No win. You are totally tarred by the bad ones.

[bluestateguy]

21. No grand jury that goes on and on and on for six months?

Every state is different.

[Srkdqltr]

22. Of all the men

--police men--- who have killed unarmed black men. Why is the only women who has done this charged?

[randome]

35. Yeah, I'm wondering about that, too.

She sounded authentic to me when she explained the situation. Maybe she did panic and she deserves the manslaughter charge. And maybe the DA thought a woman was easier to prosecute for this.

It's a sordid mess no matter which way you look at it.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]Stop looking for heroes. BE one.[/center][/font][hr]

[Spitfire of ATJ]

23. This is only PART of what it's going to take....

True, it's a big part but it's only a part.

We have learned from experience that grand juries aren't so grand after all.

If there is an open court with full disclosure and the officer is found guilty than the officer needs to be sentenced by the same standards if the situation were reversed.

I know "some people say" this will have a "chilling effect" on the police and to that I say, "That's the whole POINT."

[AllyCat]

25. Silly woman. She should have known only white MEN are

allowed to execute black people. I'll believe we are getting somewhere when we arrest a WHITE MAN for such a crime.

[Ligyron]

27. Every person I know of from my age group that became a cop was an asshole.

Just the mentality that even wants to be one is exactly the kind that shouldn't be.

And racist? OMG, that seems to be a prerequisite when joining the club.

We need some type of authority presence on the streets, I suppose, but something in the hiring process really needs improving.

Most weren't real smart either, that may be part of the problem. Most intelligent folks choose something a little more lucrative in the way of a profession.

The only one I remember that didn't fit the above scenario became involved in a criminal gang within the department - drugs, body disposal, etc. Still in jail last I heard.

I'm sure there are good ones somewhere, I just never ran into any that I knew well enough to know for sure one way or the other.

[Kablooie]

28. I wonder if this happened so quickly because...

Shelby is a woman.

It's an unpleasant thought but charging officers is such a rare occurrence that I wondered what was different about this case.

[EllieBC]

29. That was my thought too. NT

[avebury]

30. She is not that sympathetic a person.

It has been reported that, on her application to become a cop, she noted that she had a couple of protective orders AGAINST her. She also has two excessive force complaints as a cop. I think that she could probably hold her own with her male counterparts.

She claimed that she was afraid that he was going to reach for a weapon. Problem with that statement is that it was revealed in a news conference today that she had looked over the car for weapons before she approached him so she knew that there were no weapons in the car. In addition the car doors were shut (as were the windows). It would have been difficult for the guy to have reached into the car for the non-existent weapon. There were several cops at the driver's side rear watching the guy and they most certainly should have noticed the closed windows and doors.

She is evidence that female cops are equally capable of killing civilians and lieing about it as male cops.

[OilemFirchen]

32. There should be additional charges leveled.

Specifically, obstruction of justice for Shelby and the two officers who formed a wall and walked backward in order to obscure the dashcam and their identities.

Additionally, there should be a thorough examination concentrating on the officers at the crime scene itself, where it appears that, instead of administering aid to the victim, they were tampering with evidence.

[armed_and_liberal]

34. She won't serve a day in jail

This scenario happens everyday. She will op for a bench trial(her right to choose). The prosecutor will present the weakest case he can get away with. Her defense will argue she had a reasonable fear for her life and the judge will set her free.

[rladdi]

39. But this cop is a black woman. If it was a white cop charges would never be issued.

The charges happened rather fast too, unlike the murder in NC.

[Dr. Strange]

40. ?

[Baclava]

41. yeah - better check your facts, Betty

[bighart]

42. You mean the one where the shooting officer

was an African American male?