Video of police fatally shooting an unarmed black man in Tusla, Oklahoma was released Monday.
The video, taken from a police dashcam, shows 40-year-old Terence Crutcher walking away from several police officers after a traffic stop with his hands up before police apparently tasered and then fatally shot him with a gun, the Associated Press reported.
At a news conference on Monday, Tulsa Police Chief Chuck Jordan said Crutcher did not have a weapon during the stop that occurred Friday.
Local and federal investigators are weighing the possibility of filing criminal charges or civil rights violations over the fatal shooting.
“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,” Jordan said.
Police said the incident began Friday when officers found Crutcher's white SUV in the middle of a road while en route to an unrelated call. Crutcher approached the responding officers and failed to put his hands up, police said.
However, video footage appears to show Crutcher walking away from police with his hands on his head before police open fire.
"We saw that Terence did not have any weapon," Damario Solomon-Simmons, an attorney representing Crutcher's family. "Terence did not make any sudden movements. We saw that Terence was not being belligerent."
The Department of Justice is conducting a separate civil rights investigation from the local investigation.
"The Justice Department is committed to investigating allegations of force by law enforcement officers and will devote whatever resources are necessary to ensure that all allegations of serious civil rights violations are fully and completely investigated," U.S. Attorney Danny C. Williams said.
Tulsa police officer Betty Shelby, on the force since December 2011, fired the shot that killed Crutcher. while Officer Tyler Turnbought, on the force since January 2009, tasered Crutcher.
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