Unarmed black man killed by US police officer

Oklahoma police department have released a video showing a 40-year-old black man with his hands raised above his head just before being fatally shot by a white police officer.

Terence Crutcher, was first tasered by officer Tyler Turnbough and then shot dead by officer Betty Shelby during an encounter in Tulsa, Oklahoma, at around 7.40 p.m. on Friday.

The police officers were responding to reports of an abandoned vehicle blocking a road.

Police originally claimed that Crutcher was not cooperating with officers when they arrived and would not raise his hands in the air when instructed to, the Independent reported.

However, in the video, Crutcher can be seen raising his arms in the air in the middle of the street. He stood beside his driver's side window as several police officers stood behind him with their weapons raised.

Tulsa's police chief, Chuck Jordan, said at a news conference on Monday that Crutcher was unarmed and did not have a weapon in his vehicle.

"I'm going to tell you right now that there was no gun on the suspect or in the suspect's vehicle," Jordan said.

He assured people that justice will be achieved.

Crutcher's twin sister, Tiffany Crutcher, said the family demands to know what happened and wants charges pressed against Police Officer Betty Shelby, who shot and killed Crutcher, USA Today reported.

"When unarmed people of colour break down on the side of the road, we're not treated as citizens needing help, we are treated as criminals, as suspects," Benjamin Crump, a civil rights attorney, told The Post.

On September 15, 13-year-old African-American teen Tyre King, was fatally shot by a police officer who had brandished a firearm which was later determined to be an air gun.

--IANS

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