© 2024 Public Radio Tulsa
800 South Tucker Drive
Tulsa, OK 74104
(918) 631-2577

A listener-supported service of The University of Tulsa
classical 88.7 | public radio 89.5
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

The Latest on the Betty Shelby Trial

KWGS News

 

Prosecutors say a white Oklahoma police officer acted unreasonably when she fatally shot an unarmed black man last year.

They said during opening statements Wednesday in Tulsa officer Betty Jo Shelby's manslaughter trial that Shelby shot 40-year-old Terence Crutcher when he was obeying commands to raise his hands.

Shelby's attorneys said the 43-year-old officer was following her training in using deadly force against a person who wasn't complying with her orders.

The opening statements came after a jury was seated in the case. The jury consists of nine women and three men. Two of the women are black.

Attorneys for Shelby have said Crutcher refused Shelby's commands to lie down during a two-minute period before police cameras recorded the September shooting.