'We will not cover anything up': Investigation begins after Tulsa police kill unarmed black man
The U.S. Department of Justice has opened an investigation after police in Tulsa, Oklahoma fatally shot an unarmed black man named Terence Crutcher on Sept. 16.
In video released by Tulsa police on Monday, officers follow Crutcher to his SUV with weapons drawn. Crutcher, who is not facing the officers as he walks to his vehicle, has both hands raised in the air.
Moments before police open fire, one of the officers can be heard calling Crutcher a "bad dude." The 40-year-old man is standing away from the officers on the drivers' side of his vehicle when one officer fires a stun gun and another fires a single, fatal shot.
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Warning: This video contains graphic footage some readers may find disturbing.
Crutcher was reportedly taken to the hospital, where he died that night.
“It’s very difficult to watch,” Tulsa Police Chief Chuck Jordan said Monday during a press conference. “We will do the right thing. We will not cover anything up.”
Police didn't find a weapon on Crutcher's body nor in his vehicle, according to the police chief.
Based on the video, it's not clear why officers drew their weapons, nor is it clear why they fired. A police spokesperson said officers shot Crutcher after he reached inside the vehicle, though video from the incident does clearly show Crutcher's hands before police kill him.
Warning: This video contains graphic footage some readers may find disturbing.
Jordan said officers found Crutcher's vehicle with its engine running and doors open. When they found Crutcher, Jordan said the man didn't listen to officers' orders.
"The entire family is devastated," Crutcher's twin sister Tiffany told reporters at a news conference. “That big bad dude was a father. That big bad dude was a son. That big bad dude was enrolled at Tulsa Community College, just wanting to make us proud."
"We're demanding today, immediately, that charges are pressed against this officer," Tiffany Crutcher said.
Betty Shelby was reported as the Tulsa officer who fatally shot Crutcher.
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Crutcher is one of 782 people killed by police in the United States so far in 2016, and one of 193 black people, according to The Guardian, which keeps tracks of killings by police.
The Washington Post, which has a similar database, says police in the U.S. have killed 697 people this year. The two outlets use different criteria to reach separate totals. While The Guardian counts "any deaths arising directly from encounters with law enforcement," including those not caused by guns, the Post is limiting its data to civilians shot by police in the line of duty.
Colin is Mashable's US & World Reporter. He previously interned at Foreign Policy magazine and The American Prospect. Colin is a graduate from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. When he's not at Mashable, you can most likely find him eating or playing some kind of sport.
