Oklahoma Police Shooting: 'We Will Achieve Justice,' Chief Says As Terence Crutcher Video Goes Public

Police in Tulsa, Oklahoma, released a graphic video on Monday that showed the shooting death of 40-year-old Terence Crutcher, whose car was stalled in the middle of a two-lane road. It is the latest video of an unarmed black man shot by police to gain widespread attention.

“I want to assure our community, and I want to assure all of you and people across the nation watching this: We will achieve justice," Tulsa Police Chief Chuck Jordan said at a Monday afternoon press conference.

The video, shown to Crutcher's family and friends Sunday and made public Monday, shows Crutcher standing outside of his car with his hands up, facing away from police. His car blocks both lanes of traffic. One officer is out of her car and another follows. A single gunshot is heard, and moments later, Crutcher crumples to the ground.

A second view from a police helicopter camera shows a similar scene — Crutcher standing with his hands up near his car before being shot by police.

You can watch the full videos at the Tulsa World here, but be advised, they may be disturbing for some people to watch.

Officers spotted Crutcher and his car while they were responding to an unrelated call, a police spokesperson told the Tulsa World. Police said Crutcher was not obeying officers' orders, though the videos do not appear to show any such misconduct.

Police said officer Tyler Turnbough, who is white, used his Taser before officer Betty Shelby, who is also white, fired the single, fatal shot.

“I’m going to tell you right now, there was no gun on the suspect or in the suspect’s vehicle,” the police chief said.

Shelby has been placed on administrative leave while the shooting is investigated. The Department of Justice will conduct its own independent civil rights investigation into the shooting.

"What I seen on the video was a man who had his hands up, to me look like in compliance with police officers,” Mareo Johnson, a pastor and friend of the father of four, said at a peaceful protest before the video was released. “The only part was where he was walking back to his car, but he had his hands up. He was Tased and shot. We believe that was too much.”

Crutcher is the 687th person to be shot dead by police in 2016, according to a Washington Post database of fatal police shootings. Of those, at least 15 were both black and unarmed, including Crutcher, according to the Post's data. The FBI and other federal law enforcement agencies do not keep official nationwide tallies of such data.

The Tulsa Black Lives Matter chapter organized a peaceful protest outside of the Tulsa County courthouse before the video was released.

"This video is extremely disturbing," Damario Solomon-Simmons, an attorney and family friend, said outside the courthouse, according to the Tulsa World. "We could not sleep last night, and without a doubt we believe this was an unjustified shooting that should not have happened.”

Jordan, the police chief, promised a transparent investigation and said he welcomes peaceful protest.

"We will do the right thing," he said. "We will not cover anything up."

Image via Tulsa Police Department