WARNING: This video is graphic and shows the shooting of a man. It is not suitable for all audiences.
TULSA, Okla. — A federal prosecutor says the U.S. Department of Justice has opened a civil rights investigation into the fatal police shooting of an unarmed black man by a white Tulsa, Oklahoma, officer.
U.S. Attorney Danny C. Williams said Monday that the Justice Department investigation will be separate from a local one into whether criminal charges should be filed over Friday’s shooting of 40-year-old Terence Crutcher.
Tulsa Police Chief Chuck Jordan said Monday that Crutcher had no weapon when he was shot to death by an officer who was responding to a report of a stalled vehicle.
A video shows Crutcher walking toward his SUV with his hands up and a female officer following behind him.
The vehicle is stopped in the middle of the road. As Crutcher approaches the SUV, three male officers walk up and Crutcher appears to lower his hands and reach down and place them on the vehicle. The officers surround him, making it harder to see his actions from the police dashboard camera’s angle.
Crutcher can be seen dropping to the ground. Someone on the police radio says, “I think he may have just been Tasered.” One of the officers near Crutcher backs up slightly.
Then almost immediately, someone can be heard saying, “Shots fired.” Crutcher’s head then drops, leaving him lying completely out in the street.
After that a voice can be heard on the police radio saying, “Shots fired. We have one suspect down.”
