Union files complaint in Tulsa police shooting case

TULSA, Okla. (AP) – Tulsa’s police union has filed an ethics complaint against the district attorney, saying he unfairly brought charges against an officer who fatally shot an unarmed black man.
Officer Betty Shelby has pleaded not guilty to first-degree manslaughter in the Sept. 16 killing of Terence Crutcher. Her trial is scheduled to start Monday.
The union contends in its complaint filed Wednesday that Shelby’s arrest was “merely based on watching a video.” It accuses District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler of failing to adhere to his own procedures.
Kunzweiler says the charge was based on a significant amount of evidence.
Prosecutors say Shelby acted unreasonably because Crutcher wasn’t armed or combative when she approached him on a street after his SUV broke down and obeyed orders to raise his hands.
Shelby’s attorneys say she shot Crutcher because she feared for her life, believing he was reaching into his vehicle for a gun.