“not guilty”? this woman shot terence crutcher while he was walking away with his hands up

Yesterday, Tulsa police officer Betty Shelby, who killed an unarmed, back-turned Terrence Crutcher, was acquitted by a jury of a felony charge of first-degree murder. What began as a reported stalled car issue ended in with Shelby firing her gun at the man walking away from her with his hands up.

Shelby, who has a history of using excessive force against citizens, claimed that watching Crutcher walk away from her and the other assisting officers made her “fear for my life” and that “Crutcher’s death is his fault” because “I did everything I could to stop this.”

We know that’s not true because when Shelby fired her weapon at someone without one, a fellow officer used a taser to subdue Crutcher, who failed to comply with their orders. Naturally, a video of the encounter told a very different story. So once again, we have a lying, violent white cop justifying their needless killing of a black person, and justice is nowhere to be found.

Earlier this week, President Trump spoke at the 36th Annual National Peace Officers’ Memorial Service, telling police, “We will protect you.”

By Erin White*, AFROPUNK contributor

Betty Shelby (Tulsa, Okla., County Jail)

*Erin White is an Atlanta-based writer and AFROPUNK’s editorial and social media assistant. You can follow her on Tumblr or friend her on Facebook. Have a pitch or an inquiry? Shoot her an email at erin@afropunk.com.