Family: Tulsa Shooting Victim Was Turning His Life Around

TULSA, Okla.— The unarmed black man shot dead in the middle of a Tulsa street last week by a white police officer had run-ins with the law dating back to his teenage years and had recently served a four-year stint in prison.But those closest to the 4...
Family: Tulsa Shooting Victim Was Turning His Life Around
Attorney Benjamin Crump, center, one of the attorneys for Crutcher's family, speaks about Terence Crutcher during a news conference about the shooting death of Crutcher Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2016 in Tulsa, Okla. Crutcher, was shot by a Tulsa Police officer on Friday night. Also pictured are attorneys David Riggs, left, Damario Solomon-Simmons and Melvin C. Hall. Mike Simons/Tulsa World via AP
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TULSA, Okla.—The unarmed black man shot dead in the middle of a Tulsa street last week by a white police officer had run-ins with the law dating back to his teenage years and had recently served a four-year stint in prison.

But those closest to the 40-year-old victim, Terence Crutcher, described him as a church-going father who was beginning to turn his life around. After marking his 40th birthday with his twin sister last month, Crutcher sent her a text that read, “I’m gonna show you, I’m gonna make you all proud.”

Crutcher was due to start a music appreciation class at a local community college on Friday, the day he was fatally shot by Tulsa police officer Betty Shelby after she responded to a report of a stalled vehicle.

The shooting was captured in graphic detail by a police helicopter and a cruiser dashcam, though it’s not clear from that footage what led Shelby to draw her gun or what orders officers gave Crutcher. An attorney representing Crutcher’s family says Crutcher committed no crime and gave officers no reason to shoot him.

In this photo made from a Sept. 16, 2016 police video, Terence Crutcher, left, lowers his right arm as he is pursued by police officers moments before he was shot and killed by one of the officers in Tulsa, Okla. (Tulsa Police Department via AP)
In this photo made from a Sept. 16, 2016 police video, Terence Crutcher, left, lowers his right arm as he is pursued by police officers moments before he was shot and killed by one of the officers in Tulsa, Okla. Tulsa Police Department via AP