Police in Tulsa, Okla., released video footage Monday of an officer-involved shooting of an unarmed black man.
Both dashcam footage and helicopter footage show that 40-year-old Terence Crutcher had his hands in the air and was unarmed when he was shot by white Police Officer Betty Shelby on Sept. 16.
PBS NewsHour reports that Police Chief Chuck Jordan said that no weapon was found in or around Crutcher's vehicle after the shooting.
At a news conference Saturday, police spokeswoman Jeanne MacKenzie said that officers were responding to reports of a stalled vehicle, and Crutcher failed to follow repeated commands by officers to put his hands up, according to The Guardian.
“He refused to follow commands given by the officers,” MacKenzie said. “They continued to talk to him; he continued not to listen and follow any commands. As they got closer to the vehicle, he reached inside the vehicle, and at that time there was a Taser deployment, and a short time later there was one shot fired.”
Crutcher is seen on video walking toward his vehicle with his arms in the air. He is first tased by Officer Tyler Turnbough, and then a few seconds later he is shot at close range by Shelby. At no point does it appear that he made any sudden movements before being shot.
Officers then left Crutcher lying on the ground for nearly two minutes before checking to see if he had a pulse and administering first aid.
Editor’s note: The video below contains graphic footage of the shooting.
Crutcher died later that evening at a local hospital.
Prior to releasing the video footage to the public, Tulsa police showed the video to community leaders and family members.
Crutcher's twin sister, Tiffany Crutcher, is demanding that criminal charges be filed against the officer who fired the fatal shot, the Associated Press reports. Tiffany Crutcher said that her family is devastated over her brother's death, and asks that protests against the shooting remain peaceful.