Toxicology report finds PCP in system of police shooting victim
The unarmed US man who was fatally shot by police last month had the hallucinogenic drug PCP in his system according to a recent toxicology report.
Terrence Crutcher, 40, was shot dead by Tulsa Police Officer Betty Shelby after police responded to reports of a broken down SUV on September 16.
The Oklahoma State Medical Examiner's Office on Tuesday ruled that Mr Crutcher had "acute phencyclidine intoxication" when Officer Shelby shot him at the roadside encounter.
The shot fired by Officer Shelby did not exit Crutcher’s body and caused four of his ribs to fracture, according to the autopsy report.
"The cause of death is penetrating gunshot wound of chest with musculoskeletal and visceral injuries. The manner of death is classified as homicide," the report states.
Officer Shelby, who joined the Tulsa Police Department in December 2011, was en route to a domestic violence call when she encountered Crutcher's vehicle abandoned on a city street, straddling the center line. Shelby did not activate her patrol car's dashboard camera, so no footage exists of what first happened between the two before other officers arrived.
Footage from another car showed Mr Crutcher approaching the driver's side of the SUV, before more officers walked up and Crutcher appeared to lower his hands and place them on the vehicle. A man inside a police helicopter can be heard saying: "That looks like a bad dude, too. Probably on something."
The officers surrounded Mr Crutcher and he suddenly dropped to the ground. A voice heard on police radio said: "Shots fired!" The officers backed away and Crutcher was left unattended on the street for about two minutes before an officer attended to him.
Officer Shelby's defense attorney Scott Wood said that his client had drug recognition expert training and assessed Crutcher as a person who might be under the influence of PCP.
The 42-year-old police officer was charged with first-degree manslaughter on September 22 and placed on unpaid administrative leave, she will next appear in court on November 29 to receive a preliminary hearing date.
