The Biggest Conflicting Stories in the Terence Crutcher Shooting
Attorneys for both sides in the Terence Crutcher case have presented conflicting accounts of what happened on the night of Sept. 16.
Last Friday, Tulsa Police Officer Betty Shelby fatally shot Terence Crutcher, a 40-year-old unarmed black man and father of four, after responding to a call about an abandoned car.
Tulsa Police released video and audio recordings of the Crutcher shooting on Monday, but much remains unknown. And attorneys for both Shelby and the Crutcher family have shared conflicting accounts about what happened on the night of Sept. 16, CNN reports.
1. High vs. sober
Shelby’s attorney Scott Wood told Tulsa World that Shelby had recently “completed drug-recognition expert training, [and] believed that Crutcher was acting like a person who might be under the influence of PCP.”
On Tuesday, Tulsa Police Sargeant and lead homicide detective David Walker confirmed that police discovered PCP in Crutcher’s SUV. But having PCP in your car isn’t the same thing as having it in your system—a crucial distinction to make when Shelby’s defense hinges on the claim that Crutcher was “under the influence.” Authorities have not said whether or not there was PCP in Crutcher’s system, but both attorneys have reacted to the possibility that he was intoxicated.
2. Window open vs. closed
One reason Shelby is said to have fired at Crutcher was that he started reaching into his vehicle, presumably for a weapon. But the question of whether or not Crutcher’s driver-side window was open remains to be answered. Video footage doesn’t offer any angles that definitively confirm or refute this, and both attorneys are steadfast in their conflicting accounts:
3. Armed vs. unarmed
Even if Crutcher’s driver-side window was open, Shelby’s fear that he was reaching for a weapon were unfounded. Tulsa Police Chief Chuck Jordan said Monday that no gun was found in Crutcher’s vehicle.
On Tuesday, Crutcher's death was followed by the fatal police shooting of Keith Lamont Scott, a 43-year-old black man in North Carolina, which prompted protests in Charlotte. Both cases have reignited the nation’s ongoing discussion of racism and police brutality.
Federal, state, and local authorities have launched investigations into the officer-involved shooting, and Crutcher's twin sister Tiffany Crutcher has urged prosecutors to immediately press charges against Shelby.
