Oklahoma police officer charged with manslaughter of Terence Crutcher

Betty Shelby shot and killed an unarmed black man last week

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Prosecutors have charged a police officer with first-degree manslaughter, after the fatal shooting of an unarmed black man in Tulsa, Oklahoma, last week.

Betty Shelby is accused of "unlawfully and unnecessarily" killing Terence Crutcher, 40, after he refused to comply with her orders. According to the charging affidavit, Crutcher was "mumbling to himself and would not answer any of officer Shelby's questions".

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Shelby also "believed Crutcher was under the influence of the synthetic drug PCP", says the BBC. Police found a vial of the drug in Crutcher's car after the shooting.

The shooting came four months after another Tulsa police officer was convicted of second-degree manslaughter following the death of unarmed black man Eric Harris.

Robert Bates, a 73-year-old reserve sheriff's deputy, "claimed he mistook his gun for his Taser when he opened fire", The Guardian reports. He was found guilty and sentenced to four years in prison.

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