Protesters appeared outside a Tulsa courthouse after a former officer acquitted for killing an unarmed black man held a class on "surviving officer-involved shootings."
Former Tulsa Police Department officer Betty Jo Shelby was acquitted of first-degree manslaughter charges in 2017 after shooting and killing unarmed motorist Terence Crutcher, 40, in September 2016. Graphic video of the incident emerged showing several officers approaching and firing on Crutcher. A U.S. Department of Justice civil rights probe was opened into the fatal shooting. Shelby has since put her role in the shooting into a controversial "survival" class, Tulsa World reported.
A Tulsa PD helicopter pilot recording the incident from above could be heard saying "that looks like a bad dude" before Shelby and other officers shot and killed the unarmed man who died at the hospital later that night.
Entitled, "Surviving the Aftermath of a Critical Incident," Shelby's class aims to teach law enforcement how to deal with "many of the legal, financial, physical and emotional challenges" that come as a result of officer-involved shootings. The classes started at the Tulsa County Sheriff's Office Tuesday.
Shelby, who left the Tulsa Police Department before becoming a deputy at the Rogers County Sheriff's Office, told "60 Minutes" last year race had nothing to do with her decision to fire on Crutcher. She claimed she feared he was reaching inside of his SUV to acquire a firearm.
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Crutcher's family were among the protesters outside the courthouse Tuesday in opposition of Shelby's officer-involved shooting course.
QueenWeenie on August 28th, 2018 at 18:01 UTC »
Tulsan chiming in - I have a friend of extended relation to Officer Shelby and she told me during the whole ordeal they had to move around and stay on the down low because they were scared for their lives from the public backlash. Holding a class like this doesnt seem very down low to me, and further illustrates how she viewed herself as a victim from the very beginning, claiming he was "wild and under the influence" while showing no personal accountability for her lack of deescalation strategy. Shame on her and shame on Oklahoma for emboldening her.
52pearls on August 28th, 2018 at 16:56 UTC »
His hands were up. She shot him in cold blood. How do you think his family feels about this? Some of his immediate family members are police officers themselves. The family has received no justice and acted completely honorably during her entire sham trial. What would her course teach? How to get away with murder and capitalize on it because you are a white woman taking on the "scary" black man? This is a damn shame and just underscores the fact that the family received no justice.
Idontcommentorpost on August 28th, 2018 at 16:09 UTC »
Because if there's one thing we know is certain in America, someone will try and make money and/or reputation from a public tragedy.