The unarmed black man shot dead in the middle of a Tulsa street last week by a white police officer had run-ins with the law dating back to his teenage years and had recently served a four-year stint in prison.
But those closest to the 40-year-old victim, Terence Crutcher, described him as a church-going father who was beginning to turn his life around.
Crutcher's family could not be reached for comment on his criminal record. But an attorney for his family, Benjamin Crump, said the information should not be used to "demonize" Crutcher.
The Friday shooting was captured by police video, though it's not clear from that footage what led Tulsa officer Betty Shelby to draw her gun or what orders officers gave Crutcher.