Betty Shelby: The Shooting, Acquittal, and Civil Rights Lawsuit

Betty Shelby is a former Tulsa, Oklahoma police officer who shot and killed Terence Crutcher, an unarmed 40-year-old Black man, during a roadside encounter on September 16, 2016. A jury acquitted her of first-degree manslaughter in May 2017, and federal prosecutors declined to bring civil rights charges in 2019. As of 2026, she faces a revived federal civil rights lawsuit after the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled she is not entitled to qualified immunity and sent the excessive force claim back to trial court.

What Happened on September 16, 2016

Tulsa police responded that evening to reports of a vehicle stalled in the middle of a road on the north side of the city. Shelby, on patrol, encountered Crutcher near his SUV. She later testified that she asked whether the vehicle was his and that he mumbled without answering her questions or commands. Crutcher walked toward the SUV with his hands raised above his head. Shelby followed with her service weapon drawn.

As Officer Tyler Turnbough and others arrived, Crutcher reached the driver’s side of the vehicle. Shelby said Crutcher reached into the driver’s side window, and she fired a single shot that struck him in the chest, piercing both lungs. Turnbough fired his Taser at virtually the same moment. Crutcher collapsed in the street and later died. No weapon was found on him or inside his vehicle.¹

The Video Evidence

The Tulsa Police Department released helicopter and dashcam footage within days. The helicopter video showed Crutcher walking slowly toward his SUV with his arms raised while Shelby followed behind with her gun drawn. As he reached the vehicle, his arms came down near the driver’s side door before he collapsed. An officer in the helicopter was recorded describing Crutcher as “a big bad dude.”² Tulsa Police Chief Chuck Jordan called the footage “disturbing.”

The dashcam audio did not capture the verbal commands Shelby later said she gave Crutcher.³ Whether the driver’s side window was open or closed also became disputed. Attorneys for the Crutcher family pointed to blood spatter on the glass as evidence that the window was up, contradicting Shelby’s claim that Crutcher reached inside the vehicle.

An autopsy report released in October 2016 found phencyclidine (PCP) in Crutcher’s system, and a vial of PCP was reportedly recovered from his vehicle.⁴ The finding became central to Shelby’s defense and disputed by the Crutcher family, whose attorney said the toxicology gave “no reason to shoot Crutcher.”⁵

The Manslaughter Charge and Trial

On September 22, 2016, Tulsa County District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler charged Shelby with first-degree manslaughter, citing court documents stating she “reacted unreasonably” during the encounter.⁶ It was reportedly the first time in Tulsa’s history a police officer had been indicted in connection with a shooting.⁷ The charge fell under Oklahoma’s statute covering unnecessary killing while resisting criminal activity, which applies when someone makes an honest but unreasonable assessment of danger and uses deadly force against a suspect who does not pose an immediate threat.

Prosecutor Kevin Gray argued the shooting was a “routine traffic matter that went too far,” emphasizing that Crutcher was never aggressive, never produced a weapon, and that Shelby was merely “guessing” that he was armed. No firearm was found anywhere on Crutcher or in his vehicle.¹

Shelby took the stand in her own defense. She testified, “I feared for my life,” and said her training as a drug-recognition expert led her to believe Crutcher was under the influence of PCP and reaching for a weapon. She told the jury, “I did everything I could to stop this,” and asserted that “Crutcher’s death is his fault.” In a recorded interview played at trial, she said: “I’m thinking I’m by myself, he’s very big, he’s intoxicated… I thought he was going to kill me. I’ve never been so scared.”⁸ Her attorneys Shannon McMurray and Scott Wood brought in experts who analyzed the helicopter footage and argued Crutcher had reached into the vehicle, and McMurray suggested the charges had been politically motivated.⁹

On May 17, 2017, the jury returned a verdict of not guilty. The jury foreman later wrote a public letter explaining the deliberations, stating the jury concluded Shelby had acted in accordance with her law enforcement training and that there was a “lack of direct or even circumstantial evidence” that she had acted outside her duties. The letter said the jury did not believe Shelby was “blameless” in Crutcher’s death but felt “forced by the rule of law to render a not guilty verdict” because the prosecution had not proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt. The jurors recommended that “serious consideration” be given to whether Shelby should continue in law enforcement.¹⁰

The Federal Investigation Closed Without Charges

The U.S. Department of Justice opened a civil rights investigation in the days following the shooting. On March 1, 2019, the DOJ announced it would not file federal charges against Shelby, citing “insufficient evidence that she willfully used objectively unreasonable force against Mr. Crutcher with the specific intent to violate his civil rights.” A coalition of civil rights organizations, including the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and Human Rights Watch, later urged the DOJ to reopen the investigation.¹¹

Life After the Acquittal

Shelby remained at the Tulsa Police Department on permanent desk duty before resigning in August 2017.¹² That fall she joined the Rogers County Sheriff’s Office as an unpaid reserve deputy, and within months moved to a full-time patrol position under Sheriff Scott Walton.¹³

In 2018, Shelby began teaching a four-hour state-certified course titled “Surviving the Aftermath of a Critical Incident,” covering the legal, financial, physical, and emotional challenges officers face after events like shootings. The course was certified by Oklahoma’s Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training and counted toward mandatory mental health training hours. Her husband, Dave Shelby, co-taught the class.¹⁴

The course drew protests. Demonstrators gathered outside the Tulsa Civic Center carrying “#BanBetty” signs. State Representative Regina Goodwin called the class “a slap in the face.” The Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office defended it, saying Shelby was “uniquely qualified” to teach because it is rare for an officer to face criminal charges after a critical incident.¹⁵ Shelby said the class was not about the shooting itself and that she did not discuss the specifics of the Crutcher case during instruction.

The Civil Rights Lawsuit

Crutcher’s estate, represented by attorney Damario Solomon-Simmons, filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Shelby and the City of Tulsa. The case, styled Manning v. Tulsa, alleged Shelby violated Crutcher’s Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights through the use of excessive deadly force and that the city maintained a “culture of excessive force” through its training and policing practices.¹⁶

In April 2024, a federal district court dismissed the case, ruling Shelby was entitled to qualified immunity and that the estate had failed to establish a connection between the shooting and the city’s policies. The estate appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.

The Tenth Circuit Reversal

On March 30, 2026, a three-judge Tenth Circuit panel reversed the dismissal of the excessive force claim against Shelby. Judge Nancy Moritz, writing for the panel, held that the lower court had erred by viewing the disputed facts in a light favorable to Shelby rather than to the estate, as summary judgment rules require. The court also faulted the district court for defining the constitutional right at issue too narrowly, in what the panel described as an improper “scavenger hunt for prior cases with precisely the same facts.”¹⁷

Applying the standard factors for evaluating police use of force, the panel found every element weighed in the estate’s favor. The suspected offenses were at most nonviolent misdemeanors like public intoxication. Crutcher was unarmed and, under the estate’s version of events, had his hands raised and was standing next to a mostly closed vehicle window with no weapon within reach. The court stated that “a police officer may not seize an unarmed, nondangerous suspect by shooting him dead” and that this principle was clearly established by decades of precedent. The ruling stripped Shelby of qualified immunity on the excessive force claim and sent it back to the district court for further proceedings, potentially including a jury trial.¹⁸

The panel affirmed the dismissal of the estate’s claims against the City of Tulsa under Monell, the legal standard for holding a municipality liable for constitutional violations, finding the estate had not adequately shown a pattern of similar violations or that the city’s training and hiring practices amounted to deliberate indifference. The court directed the district court to reconsider its earlier dismissal of a state-law wrongful-death claim against the city, since that claim had been dropped only because no federal claims remained at the time.¹⁷

Where the Case Stands

As of mid-2026, the case is pending before the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma. Solomon-Simmons said at a press conference that the estate is “open to settlement negotiations” but that neither the City of Tulsa nor Shelby’s representatives had initiated contact about a potential resolution.¹⁹ Shelby’s attorney Scott Wood indicated the defense was evaluating whether to seek rehearing by the full Tenth Circuit or petition the U.S. Supreme Court.¹⁸

1
NBC News. Jury Acquits Tulsa Officer in Shooting Death of Terence Crutcher
2
NBC News. Disturbing Helicopter Footage Shows Oklahoma Police Kill Unarmed Man
3
ABC News. Tulsa Police Officer Shares Her Side of Story in Terence Crutcher’s Shooting
4
FOX23 News. Toxicology Reports Show Terence Crutcher Had PCP in System at Time of Death
5
ABC News. Terence Crutcher Had PCP in His System at Time of Fatal Shooting by Tulsa Police
6
Times Free Press. Tulsa Police Officer Charged in Man’s Death
7
PBS NewsHour. Family of Man Killed by Officer in 2016 Describes Efforts to Reform Policing
8
The Frontier. Officer Testifies She Told Shelby Not to Speak Following Shooting
9
Colorado Springs Gazette. Trial of Tulsa Cop Who Killed Unarmed Black Man Goes to Jury
10
The Frontier. Jury Foreman’s Letter Answers Eight Key Questions About Betty Shelby Verdict
11
NAACP Legal Defense Fund. Coalition Urges Department of Justice to Reopen Investigation Into Police Killing of Terence Crutcher
12
CNN. Betty Shelby, Officer Who Fatally Shot Terence Crutcher, Is Teaching a Class on Surviving Shootings
13
The Frontier. Months After Acquittal, Betty Shelby Quietly Returns to Patrol Duty
14
ABC News. Protest Erupts Over Critical Incident Class Taught by Oklahoma Officer
15
BBC News. Betty Shelby: Outcry Over Shooting Class by Acquitted US Officer
16
Gibson Dunn. Estate of Police Shooting Victim Terence Crutcher Appeals Dismissal of Civil Rights Lawsuit
17
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. Manning v. City of Tulsa, No. 24-5058
18
NonDoc. 10th Circuit Reverses Dismissal of Terence Crutcher Civil Rights Suit Against City of Tulsa, Betty Shelby
19
FOX23 News. Crutcher Family Hosts Press Conference Discussing Court Decision Allowing Lawsuit Against Officer Shelby