White female cop acquitted of killing an unarmed black man is now teaching a class on how officers can survive in the aftermath of a police shooting
By Emily Crane
Daily Mail
August 28, 2018
A white female police officer who was acquitted in the fatal shooting of an unarmed black man in Oklahoma is now teaching a training class on how to survive a critical incident.
Betty Shelby, 44, resigned from the Tulsa Police Department following her acquittal last year in the 2016 fatal shooting of Terence Crutcher.
She now works as a patrol officer for the nearby Roger County Sheriff's Office.
Shelby is scheduled to teach a 'critical incident' class on Tuesday for the Tulsa County Sheriff that focuses on how to cope with the aftermath of an officer-involved shooting.
The decision to let Shelby teach the class has led to protests from those who claim it is 'insensitive' to let her lead the training.
Dozens of activists and pastors held a rally on Monday with signs saying 'Ban Betty' in a bid to pressure authorities into removing Shelby from the CLEET-approved class.
State Rep. Regina Goodwin, who spoke at the rally, said she urged the sheriff to reconsider the training class.
'The class is entitled Surviving the Aftermath of a Critical Incident. How about allowing one to survive the 'beforemath'?' Goodwin wrote on Facebook.
'If officers and deputies are to learn best practices, how would Betty Shelby be most fit to provide insight?'
Reverend Rodney Goss told Newson6 that the decision was insensitive.
'It lacked integrity and it also lacked empathy. No one seems to really care about the family itself,' he said.
'It endorses her side of the story. It rewards her for what she has done, and it continues the narrative of her team that somehow, she's a hero in this whole picture.'
Shelby issued a statement Monday following the protests saying the class would include her experiences following Crutcher's death.
'I faced many challenges that I was unprepared for such as threats to my life by activists groups to loss of pay,' she said in a statement.
'My class is to help others by sharing some of the skills I used to cope with the stress of my critical incident. As law enforcement we experience many critical incidents throughout our career.
'These tools that I share are just a few to help them cope with the stress of the critical incidents they have had or will experience. My class is not about the shooting and I do not discuss the shooting.'
Shelby was found not guilty in May last year of manslaughter in the shooting death of Crutcher.
The officer was en route to a domestic violence call when she encountered Crutcher's broken-down SUV blocking a road on September 16, 2016.
Shelby claims he did not respond to her questions and did not respond to commands to stop as he walked to his vehicle with his hands in the air in the moments before she shot him.
Police helicopter video and a dashboard camera showed Crutcher walking away from Shelby on the street with his arms in the air.
It doesn't offer a clear view of when Shelby fired the single shot.
Crutcher was unarmed and had followed directions to put his arms in the air, authorities said at the time.
Prosecutors had tried to argue that Shelby 'reacted unreasonably' and was 'emotionally involved to the point that she overreacted' when she shot Crutcher.
Shelby's attorneys said she shot Crutcher because she feared for her life, believing Crutcher was reaching into his vehicle for a gun.
When she was acquitted in May last year, Shelby resigned from the department and has since become a deputy at the sheriff's office.
Crutcher's parents filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city of Tulsa in April this year.
1 comment:
What's the problem. She is teaching what she knows and has personally successfully implemented.
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