Tulsa officer had de-escalation skills

In this Thursday, Sept. 22, 2016 photo, Angie Pitts, of Tulsa, holds hands with Tulsa Police officers while protesting the death of Terence Crutcher, who was shot by police, in front of the Tulsa Country Courthouse, in Tulsa, Okla.
In this Thursday, Sept. 22, 2016 photo, Angie Pitts, of Tulsa, holds hands with Tulsa Police officers while protesting the death of Terence Crutcher, who was shot by police, in front of the Tulsa Country Courthouse, in Tulsa, Okla.

TULSA, Okla.-The Tulsa police officer accused of manslaughter in the fatal shooting of an unarmed black man took a roundabout path toward her dream job of joining law enforcement, with stops as a convenience store clerk, an Air National Guard member and a teaching assistant.

Family members and colleagues say Betty Jo Shelby, 42, was an engaged community member, a churchgoer and cool-headed enough to be tapped as a field-training officer even though she didn't join the Tulsa County Sheriff's Office until 2007 and the city's force until 2011.

Despite completing de-escalation training, Shelby "reacted unreasonably" when she confronted 40-year-old Terence Crutcher on Sept. 16 as he ignored her and walked toward his SUV that'd been abandoned on a street, prosecutors said in court documents. Shelby, who posted bond early Friday, faces up to life in prison if convicted.

Shelby's attorney, Scott Wood, said Friday that she had a reputation of having a "cool head on her shoulders."

"This wasn't her first week on the job," Wood said. "Betty is a field-training officer. The department has picked her to train new officers, and people will tell you this isn't Betty Shelby to overreact to a situation."

He also said Crutcher escalated the situation by not communicating with her, disobeying her commands and walking away from her. "One thing about de-escalation, that's a two-way street," Wood said. "You have to at least have some open communication. There was none with Mr. Crutcher."

Mark Sawa, a retired major with the Travis County Sheriff's Office in Austin, Texas, who trains police officers on use of force, said: "If somebody is not contained, if they're walking away from you, your opportunity to defuse that encounter is greatly diminished if they're mobile and not stationary."

He cautioned that he couldn't fully assess how the situation got out of hand, as no video is available until after Shelby already has her gun drawn and Crutcher is walking away from her with his hands in the air. Shelby did not activate her dashboard camera when she first came across Crutcher and his SUV.

Upcoming Events