Betty Jo Shelby (1974- ) is a killer cop in the US. On May 17th 2017 she was found not guilty of first-degree manslaughter for killing Terence Crutcher, an unarmed Black man. She is White. She said she “feared for her life.”
The trial jury was made up of seven White women, two White men, two Black women and one Black man. The jury met for nine hours to come to its decision. After they gave their verdict of “not guilty”, five of them cried, four women and one man.
The county prosecutor, Steve Kunzweiler,:
“I’m proud of this system. I’m proud of this jury. … We have to live with that judgement.”
To his credit, unlike most people in his position, he charged a killer cop with a crime. That is the exception, not the rule.
The scene of the crime: In Tulsa, Oklahoma on September 16th 2016 Shelby came across Crutcher’s car stopped in the middle of the road. She looked inside the car. Nothing. Then he appeared. He seemed to be on PCP, angel dust: Shelby knew the signs. The toxicology report later showed PCP and traces of Tenocyclidine were in his blood, both hallucinogenic drugs.
Crutcher at no point became violent or threatening. She ordered him to get on the ground. He did not, but he did have his hands in the air. Then, when he leaned against his car, she shot him. She was afraid he was reaching for a gun. But it seems the car window was up – and no gun was ever found.
She blames him for his own death:
“I have sorrow that this happened that this man lost his life but he caused the situation to occur. So in the end, he caused his own [death]”
Deadly force: She says Crutcher was not following orders and seemed to be on drugs – but neither one is a reason to use deadly force. The officer standing right next to her used his taser. She says her training did not call for a taser at that point.
Race: She says, “Race had nothing to do with my decision making.” Her mother-in-law said Shelby was grieving for Crutcher’s family and is not prejudiced. The Tulsa police put a picture on their Facebook page showing Shelby receiving flowers from a Black couple whom she helped following a burglary:
Crutcher’s twin sister, Tiffany:
“[Police officers] walked by my brother [after Shelby shot him down] to go check on Betty Jo and the last few breaths of his life he laid their alone. And these are officers who are paid to serve and protect us. Trained to deal with people who are supposedly intoxicated or inebriated. But yet you use deadly force. No weapon was found. […] I’m going to make sure that I don’t rest until we get reform for this police department in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and until we change the culture.”
Crutcher’s family is expected to take Shelby, the police and the city to court in a civil case.
– Abagond, 2017.
See also:
- Terence Crutcher
- killer cops
- applicable tropes:
- taser
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Can’t say I’m surprised a jury comprised of a majority of white women let one of their own off the hook. If the roles were reversed, IMO these white women would not have hesitated to have thrown the book at the black officer.
“To his credit, unlike most people in his position, he charged a killer cop with a crime. That is the exception, not the rule.”
I wouldn’t give him too much credit. He was partly responsible for selecting the jury composed mostly of white women. I wonder what kind of questions, if any, he asked to determine their potential bias in favour of a fellow white woman and prejudices against black men, especially big, dark-skinned ones.
““I have sorrow that this happened that this man lost his life but he caused the situation to occur. So in the end, he caused his own [death]””
SMH. Pure evil.
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According to the Kansas City Star Shelby will resume work as a cop next week. The Star added:
http://www.kansascity.com/news/nation-world/article151476452.html
Her attorney’s comment is the height of irony. Shelby is “getting due process…”; the very same “due process” she denied Mr. Crutcher when she decided to murder him just because she could get away with her crimes. She was never fired from the police force after her crimes.
I wonder if she got a Darren Wilson styled payoff of private donations from sick racists for killing an unarmed Black man?
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I’m thinking black Americans should adopt an Italian mafia mindset to things like these.
Guaranteed if one or more of these cops were to not show up at work, home or anyplace else and not be seen again, LEOs wouldn’t be so quick to pump black bodies full of lead.
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I am not surprised at the outcome i had a feeling this murderer would be acquited.
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“I’m thinking black Americans should adopt an Italian mafia mindset to things like these. Guaranteed if one or more of these cops were to not show up at work, home or anyplace else and not be seen again, LEOs wouldn’t be so quick to pump black bodies full of lead.” – Mack Lyons
LOL! Some people on this board say some of the most imbecilic 5h!t. Living life in a state of unconsciousness is also confirmation of the depth of Black people’s spiritual death as a whole. As a group, we do not have the strength nor the armaments of war to fight the white man. Don’t be a fool!
However, if your detrimental desires cannot be contained, go ahead and implement your mafia style mindset and those of us who are conscious will sit back and watch you and the rest of your toy soldier cohorts get smashed. (chuckles)
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Ok, so what would you do?
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“Living life in a state of unconsciousness is also confirmation of the depth of Black people’s spiritual death as a whole.”
If I’m interpreting this correctly you believe most Black people are “spiritually dead” because they are unaware of the unique religious heritage that you have woken up too.
What I find off putting is the seemingly anti Black defeatist assumption written right into your statement. It seems to be saying it’s “too late for Blacks” because as a group they are unconsicuous and blind on a spiritual level thus they are too weak to resist racism in any meaningful way.
Lets not forget that it was Christianity forced onto Blacks that helped destroy their identity and placated Blacks within white supremacy.
How are your views less detrimental to Blacks mentally then Mack’s common sense approach of targeted violence ?
Who had the mind set towards how a free man thinks and who has the mindset detrimental towards revolution ?
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edit: who has the mindset towards how a free man thinks
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“If I’m interpreting this correctly you believe most Black people are “spiritually dead” because they are unaware of the unique religious heritage that you have woken up too.” – michaeljonbarker
Yes, you are correct here.
“What I find off putting is the seemingly anti Black defeatist assumption written right into your statement. It seems to be saying it’s “too late for Blacks” because as a group they are unconsicuous and blind on a spiritual level thus they are too weak to resist racism in any meaningful way.” – michaeljonbarker
Nope, you are wrong here and this is merely your own opinion of what I wrote.
Matthew 15:14 Leave them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.
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@ michaeljonbarker
It’s not the defeatism bordering on nihilism that I find off-putting. It’s the self-serving tone from a supposedly “woke” individual who’s coping with black America’s present situation by forsaking fellow black Americans as a “lost cause” and putting him/herself on some high “spiritual” pedestal. It’s the sort of behavior I’d expect from an Uncle Ruckus type. Or Stephen from Django Unchained.
And I wish I knew the particulars of this “unique religious heritage” blakksage seems to be hip to, as it would help put his/her post into perspective. As it stands, it’s nothing more than peanuts raining down from the peanut gallery.
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I don’t even know why they waste tax payers money and bother with a trial.
These white cops or non black cops can kill black people and get away with and they know it. That’s why it goes on and on.
We need to stop being surprised. Stop trying to appeal to a heart white people don’t have .
They are not locking white supremacist race soldiers like Betty Shelby. The criminal justice system is set up for this. We are in a war and it’s never stopped.
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“And I wish I knew the particulars of this “unique religious heritage” blakksage seems to be hip to, as it would help put his/her post into perspective. – Mack Lyons
You’re so funny! And quit using MJBarker’s post as a deflection and worry about what you posted. Again, you are further confirmation that if one wants to hide something from a Black man, just put it between the pages of a book. In that way, he will never find it and this is what category you seem fall in to.
Additionally, I am quite certain that the white man will not get away with what he did to God’s people. And yes, that is WRITTEN as well.
PS hint: read the Bible
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Black lives matter, but seriously, I think other victims who are not druggies (it’s not even weed, it’s worse) are possibly more deserving of sympathy.
Black lives matter but black health matters too. Say no to drugs.
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@ blakksage
So I take it you don’t actually have any solutions of your own, aside from wallowing in your own self-righteousness while dishing out unwarranted insults. And to think I actually expected better of you. My mistake. 🙂
BTW, your entire diatribe’s getting dangerously close to the black pathology broken record. I understand how your newfound wokeness serves as your coping mechanism of choice, but I suggest you find another way that doesn’t make you seem like such an abrasive charlatan.
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@Anonymous
Except no report came out indicating this man was on drugs. Nor has one been released indicating as much about the major cases that hit tv where blacks were shot down. That is the excuse and one that often times turns out not to be a true one, because the druggies aren’t the ones getting shot down.
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@sharina
But I thought,
“Addiction is a disease not a crime”*
…
*depending on the race of the addict; kind of like driving or walking home.
Guess I didn’t read the fine print.
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