The police officer who shot and killed Terence Crutcher, an unarmed black man in Tulsa, Oklahoma, was acquitted on charges of manslaughter last year. She is still working as an officer in the area — and now, she's teaching others in law enforcement about how to successfully bounce back from scrutiny like she did.
On Tuesday, Betty Shelby, now a Rogers County sheriff's deputy, will teach a class called "Surviving the Aftermath of a Critical Incident," Tulsa World reports. She's reportedly taught the course at other agencies in an effort to "illustrate to law officers how an action, such as a shooting, can occur in 'microseconds' and unravel for months," said Rogers County Sheriff Scott Walton.
Shelby shot Crutcher in the lung after approaching his vehicle in a traffic stop, NBC News reported. She said she believed Crutcher was reaching for a weapon. A jury called the shooting "unfortunate and tragic, but justifiable," and her acquittal led to protests in Tulsa. Earlier this year, Shelby told ABC News affiliate KTUL that her classes are intended to teach officers about "The Ferguson Effect," which she described as "when a police officer is victimized by anti-police groups and tried in the court of public opinion."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Tulsa World reports that lawmakers and members of the community were protesting her latest offering of the class. "We're saying that you need to get another teacher," Rep. Regina Goodwin (D-Okla.) said. Many critics in Tulsa said they didn't necessarily mind the content of the training, just that Shelby was the one leading it. "Training for law enforcement is desperately needed, but if you do tone-deaf things like this," said Chris Moore, a reverend at a local church, "then no amount of training is possibly going to rebuild broken relationships between law enforcement and portions of our community."
-
The IDF's manpower problemThe Explainer Israeli military's shortage of up to 12,000 troops results in call-up for tens of thousands of reservists
-
Quiz of The Week: 16 – 22 AugustQuiz Have you been paying attention to The Week's news?
-
Can Soho House get its edge back?Talking Point The private members' club has lost its exclusive appeal – but a £2 billion buy-out could offer a fresh start
-
Australian woman found guilty of mushroom murdersspeed read Erin Patterson murdered three of her ex-husband's relatives by serving them toxic death cap mushrooms
-
Combs convicted on 2 of 5 charges, denied bailSpeed Read Sean 'Diddy' Combs was acquitted of the more serious charges of racketeering and sex trafficking
-
Sniper kills 2 Idaho firefighters in ambushSpeed Read A man started a wildfire, then fired a rifle at first responders when they arrived
-
Weinstein convicted of sex crime in retrialSpeed Read The New York jury delivered a mixed and partial verdict at the disgraced Hollywood producer's retrial
-
'King of the Hill' actor shot dead outside homespeed read Jonathan Joss was fatally shot by a neighbor who was 'yelling violent homophobic slurs,' says his husband
-
DOJ, Boulder police outline attacker's confessionspeed read Mohamed Sabry Soliman planned the attack for a year and 'wanted them all to die'
-
Assailant burns Jewish pedestrians in Boulderspeed read Eight people from the Jewish group were hospitalized after a man threw Molotov cocktails in a 'targeted act of violence'
-
Driver rams van into crowd at Liverpool FC paradespeed read 27 people were hospitalized following the attack
