Summary: On Monday video footage was released showing a Tulsa police officer shooting an unarmed black man to death on Friday night after the man approached his SUV with his arms up. Police helicopter film footage shows 40 year old Terence Crutcher slowly walking from the edge of the street toward his car, which had been reported abandoned and left in the middle of the road authorities report. An officer followed Crutcher with a gun trained on him for several seconds, then 3 more officers come to the scene while Crutcher lowers his hands as he walks up to his vehicle. Standing by the drivers door he suddenly drops to the ground and moments later blood can be seen all over his white t-shirt. On Monday at a news conference Tulsa Police Chief Chuck Jordan said that Officer Tyler Turnbough tasered Crutcher, and a second officer, Betty Shelby, fired at him after telling a dispatcher "that she's not having cooperation from" Crutcher. Officer Jordan didn't provide any more details but he said no weapon was found on Crutcher or in his SUV. Jordan, who called the footage "disturbing," said that he asked the Justice Department to review the case. "I will make this promise to you, we will achieve justice," he said. During the news conference Monday a Crutcher family lawyer, Melvin C. Hall, said that Crutcher was only having problems with his SUV before he was shot to death. "They treated him like a criminal," added a second lawyer, Benjamin Crump. "They treated him like a suspect. They did not treat him like somebody in distress who needed help. Instead of giving him a hand, they gave him bullets." Crutcher's twin sister, Tiffany, described him as a brother and father who was enrolled in Tulsa Community College and loved singing at church.
And she criticized one of the officers in the helicopter who can be heard telling a second officer aboard that Crutcher looks like "a big bad dude."
"That big bad dude — his life mattered," she said.
Analysis/ Synthesis: This is absolutely heart breaking I'm completely speechless about this.... This situation like the many that have recently happened could be synthesized to the recent injustice shooting of Alton Sterling.
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This event is unfortunate but it's not the first time we've seen a police officer shoot an unarmed black man. Events like this are tragic and need attention called to so it can show that lives are actually in danger.
ReplyDeleteI can't believe this is still happening. Police officers are shooting unarmed African American men all over the place. It's an abuse of their gun and badge. I'm glad you wrote about this and called attention to something that so desperately needs to be fixed.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree, it is disturbing to see people still attempting to justify the actions of the policemen who are abusing their power or position in the United States.
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