Video of Tulsa police shooting Terence Crutcher sparks outrage

Civil rights advocates are livid after viewing more video footage of an unarmed black man’s death at the hands of a white police officer.

The Tulsa, Okla., Police Department released videos on Monday from a police helicopter and a police cruiser dashcam that show Terence Crutcher’s final moments a few days earlier.

On Friday evening, Officer Betty Shelby, who has been with the force since 2011, shot and killed the 40-year-old man after he walked to his SUV with his hands over his head. At the same time, Officer Tyler Turnbough fired his Taser. They had been responding to a stalled vehicle in the middle of a road.

Reactions to the video on social media were swift. Many people associated with the Black Lives Matter movement saw the killing as yet another example of that they consider systemic police brutality against the African-American community.

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton lamented the incident on Twitter.

Celebrities also sounded off on the shooting.

At a press conference Monday, Crutcher’s twin sister, Tiffany Crutcher, criticized an officer in the police helicopter who could be heard saying, “That looks like a bad dude too. Probably on something,” in one of the videos.

“You all want to know who that big bad dude was?” she told the media. “The big bad dude was my twin brother. That big bad dude was a father. That big bad dude was a son. That big bad dude was enrolled at Tulsa Community College — just wanting to make us proud. That big bad dude loved God. That big bad dude was at church singing with all of his flaws every week. That big bad dude, that’s who he was.”

She called for charges to be brought against Shelby for taking her brother’s life and connected the incident to the larger concerns of Black Lives Matter.

“It’s time for everybody to demand that this stops and that justice is served. We just want justice,” Tiffany Crutcher said. “Because I want for everyone to know that that big bad dude, his life mattered. His life mattered. His life mattered. And the chain breaks here. We’re going to stop it right here in Tulsa, Oklahoma. This is bigger than us right here.”

Tulsa Police Chief Chuck Jordan said at a news conference Monday afternoon that there was no gun on Crutcher or in his vehicle.

“I will just make this promise to you: We will achieve justice in this case. It will be presented to the right people,” Jordan said. “I want to assure our community, and I want to assure all of you — and people across the nation who are going to be looking at this — we will achieve justice. Period.”

Shelby’s attorney, Scott Wood, told the Tulsa World that the officer had just completed a drug-recognition course and thought Crutcher was acting like someone who might be under the influence of PCP. He said Crutcher did not respond to any of her questions and that he reached into his pockets multiple times despite being told not to.

The police department opened a criminal investigation into the incident, and the U.S. Justice Department launched a separate civil rights investigation.