Officer Betty Shelby, a white woman, fatally shot 40-year-old Crutcher, a black man, on Friday after she came upon his vehicle, which was stalled in the middle of the road, while responding to an unrelated call. Crutcher was later tased by another officer just seconds after Shelby fired her weapon. Crutcher’s family is seeking criminal charges against his killer. But Shelby’s lawyer said she fired her weapon because she feared for her life, despite the fact that Crutcher was unarmed and had his hands raised mere moments before he was shot, as seen in video footage.
The shooting, which is one of the latest in a string of police killings of black men and women, has gained nationwide attention. That has put Shelby’s work history under heavy scrutiny. More information released this week on her professional background and personal life, some disclosed by her attorney Scott Wood, could help to paint a more complete picture of her.
Betty Shelby has divorced and remarried at least once. According to the job application she submitted to the sheriff’s office in 2007, her ex-husband’s new wife filed a protective order against her in 2002 to put an end to harassing phone calls the new wife claims Shelby made. The order was eventually denied and Shelby maintained her innocence.
Nearly a decade earlier, Shelby noted on the same application, a breakup with her then-boyfriend led to the two damaging each other’s cars. Temporary restraining orders were filed and eventually tossed out.
Shelby is now a drug-recognition expert, which Wood said she received training for. She said she believed Crutcher was under the influence when she encountered him. Police said they later found PCP in Crutcher’s car, but he is not the only one in the case who reportedly has a history of drug use. In the same job application where Shelby noted various domestic disturbances, she marked “yes” under a prompt that asked whether she had “possessed and used illegal drugs” in the past. Shelby said she used marijuana twice when she was 18 years old.
Shelby also has two excessive force complaints, according to KJRH. Both of those cases were held to be unfounded. KJRH also reports that Shelby has four letters of commendation as well as an Oklahoma meritorious service award.
More information on the shooting case is expected to be released as the investigation continues.
Shelby, who is currently on administrative leave, is now a rightful target of the same scrutiny and investigation that many minority victims of police shootings have experienced. But those who knew Crutcher best are able to truly tell the story of who he was and what he stood for.
“You all want to know who that big bad dude was? That big bad dude was my twin brother,” Crutcher’s sister Tiffany said at a press conference following his death. “That big bad dude was a father. That big bad dude was a son. That big bad dude was enrolled at Tulsa Community College… That big bad dude loved God. That big bad dude was at church singing with all his flaws every week. That big bad dude, that’s who he was.”
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