Judge admonishes Shelby after ‘60 Minutes’ interview
The judge presiding over Tulsa Police officer Betty Shelby’s manslaughter trial admonished her in a written order Thursday following her recent interview on a national television show, which occurred after he had cautioned the state and defense on speaking publicly about the case.
The order from District Judge Doug Drummond states Shelby’s case has drawn significant media interest nationwide, which prompted him to send a letter Nov. 28 to attorneys asking that they be “cognizant” of professional conduct rules relating to pretrial publicity. He said he hopes everyone involved recognizes the potential of pretrial publicity to hamper a fair and impartial trial, and again formally instructed them to follow those rules.
The November letter was not a court order, and Drummond said that “certainly, based on what public comments have taken place, it did not resolve the issue.”
Shelby was featured Sunday evening in a roughly 30-minute report on ”60 Minutes” in which she broke down in tears while describing the circumstances that led to her decision to shoot Terence Crutcher on Sept. 16.
“Since the date of that letter, the public comments continued, either volunteered or in response to questions from the media,” Drummond wrote. “However, of particular concern — given the jury trial is scheduled May 8, 2017 — is the potential impact of the defendant’s April 2, 2017, voluntary appearance on a national news show (‘60 Minutes’) as well as her attorney’s interviews with KFAQ (local news show) before and right after the episode aired.”
He went on to note that although he is not privy to all comments made by either side since Shelby was charged, including the “60 Minutes” and KFAQ interviews, he noted the former appearance received prominent coverage in local media.
Drummond declined a request from the Tulsa World to comment further on the order, and attorneys for Shelby have not returned phone calls seeking comment.
When asked about the issue, District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler said, “Judge Drummond’s order speaks for itself. Our focus has been and will continue to be on getting prepared for trial.”
Shelby, 43, is charged with first-degree manslaughter in the death of Crutcher, 40, in the 2300 block of East 36th Street North the evening of Sept. 16.
During her “60 Minutes” interview with reporter Bill Whitaker, she said she felt Crutcher compelled her to shoot him because he wasn’t complying with commands that he show her his hands. She described the aftermath of the shooting as being akin to “a lynch mob coming after me,” a comment that drew outrage from local social justice activists, among others.
Shelby has said she was en route to an unrelated domestic violence call when she saw Crutcher and his vehicle stopped in the middle of the road. She said she fired a single shot when she thought Crutcher lowered his hand to reach through the driver’s side window of the vehicle, and told Whitaker that neither dash cam nor helicopter video footage of the altercation show the full story of what took place.
But Tiffany Crutcher, Terence Crutcher’s twin sister, said in the “60 Minutes” report that there was “no justification whatsoever” for Shelby to pull the trigger, especially when she had at least three other officers on scene as backup.
Records released by Tulsa police on Sept. 19 indicate Shelby told a dispatcher she needed backup because she had a subject who was noncompliant, and that the other officers either had a gun or Taser pointed at Terence Crutcher at the time he was shot.
Tiffany Crutcher also said Shelby is “saying everything that she’s supposed to defend herself” from criminal prosecution, and asserted the footage shows her brother only did what their father taught them to do when interacting with law enforcement.
Shelby has a court appearance before Drummond on Wednesday, where her attorneys and prosecutors are expected to work to create a juror questionnaire and argue over what evidence should be admissible during the trial.