TULSA, Oklahoma: The Oklahoma State Medical Examiner’s Office said the man killed by a Tulsa, Oklahoma, officer died from “a penetrating gunshot wound of chest” and his death is considered a homicide.
But spokeswoman Amy Elliott said a full autopsy report and toxicology results for Terence Crutcher are not yet complete.
Tulsa Police Officer Betty Shelby has been charged with first-degree manslaughter in Crutcher’s Sept. 16 death. An affidavit from District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler’s office said the officer “reacted unreasonably” when she shot Crutcher, who did not have a gun.
An attorney for Shelby has said the officer believed Crutcher was using the hallucinogenic drug PCP, and a police spokesman has confirmed the drug was found in Crutcher’s SUV.
Tulsa plans a remembrance ceremony to honor Crutcher. Tulsa Community College says a ceremony will be held at noon Friday. Crutcher had been scheduled to begin a music appreciation class at the college on Sept. 16, though the course was canceled a day earlier because of low enrollment.
Meanwhile, President Barack Obama scolded Donald Trump for his bleak description of America’s African-American community as recent police shootings of black men inject sensitive questions about race into the presidential contest.
The first black US president took issue with the Republican nominee’s suggestion this week that “African-American communities are absolutely in the worst shape than they’ve ever been in before, ever, ever, ever.”
“I think even most 8 year olds would tell you that whole slavery thing wasn’t very good for black people. Jim Crow wasn’t very good for black people,” Obama said in an interview that aired Friday on ABC’s “Good Morning America.”
The Democratic president encouraged Trump to visit Washington’s new Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, where the ABC interview was conducted.
“What we have to do is use our history to propel us to make even more progress in the future,” Obama said.
The comments come as Trump works to strike a delicate balance on the campaign trail, where he’s trying to show law-and-order toughness along with empathy for African-Americans amid criticism his campaign inspires racism.
The New York businessman has sent mixed and at times unclear messages that could rankle African-Americans even as he called Thursday for a nation united in “the spirit of togetherness.”
“The rioting in our streets is a threat to all peaceful citizens and it must be ended and ended now,” he declared at a rally in suburban Philadelphia on Thursday night. He added: “The main victims of these violent demonstrations are law-abiding African-Americans who live in these communities and only want to raise their children in safety and peace.”
Tulsa man’s death ‘a homicide’
Tulsa man’s death ‘a homicide’
