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Trial begins for white cop who killed Terence Crutcher

By Shantell E. Jamison, ebony.com

The manslaughter trial for a White Tulsa, Oklahoma, police officer who fatally shot an unarmed Black motorist is underway, ABC News reports.

Betty Shelby, 43, shot and killed 40-year-old Terence Crutcher after approaching him on the side of a road on Sept. 16, 2016. Video shows Crutcher, whose car had broken down, walking away from her with his hands on his head.

According to the Tulsa County District Attorney’s office, Shelby “reacted unreasonably by escalating the situation from a confrontation with Mr. Crutcher, who was not responding to verbal commands and was walking away from her with his hands help up, becoming emotionally involved to the point that she overreacted.”

Shelby has been on unpaid leave since the shooting, and attorneys representing her said that before the video started, their client repeatedly ordered Crutcher to stop walking away and to get on the ground. Shelby’s legal counsel also said she feared for her life and thought Crutcher was reaching into his vehicle for a gun.

Read more at EBONY http://www.ebony.com/news-views/terence-crutcher-murder-trial#ixzz4go0utIfi

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