An African American man was shot and killed by a police officer in Tulsa, Oklahoma even though he was unarmed and had his hands up.
The man was 40-year-old Terence Crutcher and he was first stunned then shot dead in a video that was released by the police department.
The incident happened at about 7:40pm on Friday and the officer responsible was Betty Shelby, a Tulsa police officer since 2011.
She shot once and killed Crutcher while responding to a stalled vehicle report, according to the police department.
According to the video footage, Crutcher had his hands up and seemed to be following the orders of the police officers and then he was shot.
Local and federal investigations are under way to determine whether criminal charges are warranted. No reason has been given as to why the officer discharged her weapon.
Brady Henderson, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma, said each of the officers present were complicit in the “unconscionable, reprehensible, and disgusting killing” by allowing him to bleed to death on the street without summoning immediate medical aid.
“The Tulsa officers have made it abundantly clear how little regard they have for Tulsa’s communities of colour,” Henderson said.
“By shooting a defenceless black man and then shirking their legal and moral obligation to render aid … [the officers] clearly could not care less about whether the black citizens they are sworn to protect live or die.”
Crutcher’s twin sister has asked for justice and she wants criminal charges implemented.
“The big bad dude was my twin brother. That big bad dude was a father. That big bad dude was a son,” she said.
“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.”
You can see the video below.