Tulsa Officer Late to Career, Had De-escalation Training

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., on Sept. 22, 2016. Mike Simons/Tulsa World via AP

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 fatally shot 40-year-old Terence Crutcher on Sept. 16, according to an affidavit prosecutors filed with the first-degree manslaughter charge. Shelby, who posted bond early Friday, faces four years to life in prison if convicted.

This photo provided by Tulsa County Inmate Information Center shows Tulsa police officer Betty Shelby. Tulsa County jail records show that Shelby turned herself in early Friday, Sept. 23, 2016, hours after prosecutors charged her with first-degree manslaughter in the death of Terence Crutcher. Tulsa County Inmate Information Center via AP