Verdict Reached In Betty Shelby Trial

TULSA, Okla. (AP) – A verdict has been reached in the trial, according to the district attorney’s office. Jurors have been deliberating since about noon on Wednesday.

Jurors must decide whether Tulsa officer Betty Jo Shelby went too far September 16 when she killed 40-year-old Terence Crutcher.

The defense for Shelby asked for a mistrial for the second time on Wednesday based on what the defense attorney described as prosecutorial misconduct. The judge dismissed the motion for the retrial.

Shelby testified Monday that she shot Crutcher because she thought he was reaching into the driver’s side door of his abandoned Lincoln Navigator, which was parked and running in the middle of a Tulsa road, to retrieve a gun to shoot her with.

helby testified that she feared for her life because Crutcher did not communicate with her, walked away from her and repeatedly switched between having his hands in the air and reaching toward his pockets.

Crutcher caused his own death, in Shelby’s opinion, and it could’ve been avoided had he complied with her commands to “Stop!” and to get down on his knees, she testified.

No guns were found inside Crutcher’s vehicle.

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Verdict Reached In Betty Shelby Trial; Not Guilty