Tulsa to pay ex-officer’s legal bill in civil lawsuit

TULSA, Okla. (AP) – Tulsa officials have approved legal representation in a federal civil lawsuit for a former police officer acquitted of first-degree manslaughter in the death of an unarmed black man.

Former Tulsa Police Officer Betty Shelby was acquitted in May in the September 2016 shooting death of Terence Crutcher. The Tulsa World reports that city councilors approved paying for Shelby’s representation Wednesday in the civil lawsuit Crutcher’s family filed against her and the city.

The lawsuit accuses Shelby of using excessive force and accuses the city of racially biased policing.

Shelby returned to the Tulsa Police Department in an administrative position, but resigned in July, saying she felt isolated from other officers. She now works as a reserve deputy for neighboring Rogers County.