TULSA, Okla. (AP) -- Six witnesses have testified that an unarmed man who was fatally shot by an Oklahoma police officer didn't say or do anything indicating he posed a threat to officers at the scene.
A police officer who was inside a police helicopter hovering overhead last September described 40-year-old Terence Crutcher as looking "like a bad dude" who "could be on something." Moments later, Tulsa officer Betty Jo Shelby shot Crutcher.
Officer Michael Richert's statement outraged Crutcher's family, who said it indicated racial bias. Richert told prosecutors Wednesday he "had no idea" if Crutcher was on something when he was shot.
Prosecutors charged Shelby with manslaughter, saying she overreacted when she fatally shot Crutcher because he was obeying her commands.
During opening statements Wednesday, Shelby's attorneys said the 43-year-old officer was following her training in using deadly force against a person who wasn't complying with her orders.
Attorneys for Shelby have said Crutcher refused Shelby's commands to lie down during a two-minute period before police cameras recorded the September shooting.
Shelby has pleaded not guilty. Her trial continues Thursday.
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