Supreme Court rejects Betty Shelby appeal, allowing Terence Crutcher civil rights case to proceed
TheGrio...
The justices left intact a ruling that revived the excessive-force claim against the former Tulsa officer who fatally shot the unarmed Black father in 2016.
The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear former Tulsa police officer Betty Jo Shelby’s appeal of a ruling allowing a civil rights claim over the 2016 killing of Terence Crutcher to move forward.
The decision leaves intact a federal appeals court ruling that revived the excessive-force claim against Shelby, who was acquitted of first-degree manslaughter in Crutcher’s death in 2017. The separate civil case will now continue in federal district court.
KRMG reported that the justices denied Shelby’s petition on Oct. 5 without explanation, as is customary when the court declines to hear a case. The denial leaves in place a March 30 decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.
Crutcher, a 40-year-old unarmed Black man, was shot and killed by Shelby on Sept. 16, 2016. Shelby encountered his SUV stopped in the middle of a Tulsa road with its engine running. Officer Tyler Turnbough fired a Taser at nearly the same moment Shelby fired her gun.
The administrator of Crutcher’s estate later sued Shelby under a federal civil rights law, alleging that she used excessive force in violation of the Fourth Amendment. A federal district court granted Shelby summary judgment on qualified-immunity grounds in February 2023.
The Tenth Circuit reversed that decision. The appeals court found that the district court had failed to view disputed evidence in the light most favorable to Crutcher’s estate, as courts are required to do at the summary-judgment stage.
Under the estate’s version of the disputed facts, Crutcher had his hands raised, was unarmed and did not pose an immediate threat when Shelby shot him. The court concluded that longstanding precedent had already established that officers cannot use deadly force against an unarmed person who poses no immediate danger.
Shelby asked the Supreme Court to review the qualified-immunity ruling. The National Fraternal Order of Police filed a brief supporting her petition, but the justices declined to take the case.
The Supreme Court’s denial does not determine whether Shelby will ultimately be found liable for violating Crutcher’s rights. It means the Tenth Circuit’s ruling stands and the estate will have another opportunity to pursue its excessive-force claim in federal court.
Karin Portlock, an attorney representing Crutcher’s estate, called the development a victory for civil rights and police accountability.
Crutcher’s twin sister, Dr. Tiffany Crutcher, said her family has spent a decade seeking accountability and described the decision as an opening to continue that fight.
The case will now return to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma. KRMG reports that proceedings are scheduled to resume on Feb. 8, 2027.