Tulsa officer says race didn’t factor into shooting of black man

TULSA, Okla. (AP) – A white Oklahoma police officer charged with manslaughter for fatally shooting an unarmed black man last year says the man’s race had nothing to do with her decision to fire her gun.
Tulsa officer Betty Jo Shelby tells “60 Minutes” that she used lethal force because she feared 40-year-old Terence Crutcher was reaching inside his SUV for a gun.
Shelby has pleaded not guilty and goes to trial May 8.
She says she was charged less than a week after the Sept. 16 shooting because authorities feared civil unrest similar to that in other cities after deaths of black residents during police encounters.
Prosecutors say Shelby acted unreasonably because Crutcher had his hands up and was obeying her orders.