Betty Shelby, the former Tulsa police officer who shot and killed unarmed Terence Crutcher, was recently sworn in as a reserve deputy with the Rogers County Sheriff’s Office, Oklahoma’s News 9 reports.
As a reserve deputy, Shelby is currently volunteering, but Rogers County Sheriff Scott Walton told reporters that she would have the opportunity to apply for a paid full-time position.
Shelby joins the Rogers County police department just weeks after resigning from the Tulsa Police Department. News 9 reports that Shelby returned to her old position after being acquitted for the manslaughter of Crutcher. In her resignation letter, she said that sitting behind a desk made her feel isolated from fellow officers and community members.
Grassroots organization “We the People Oklahoma” believes that Shelby’s isolation is “what is best” for the Tulsa community. In a Facebook post, the group said that Shelby was unfit for duty, and quoted the jury’s letter to the court: “Many on the Jury could never get comfortable with the concept of Betty Shelby being blameless for Mr. Crutcher’s death…We question her judgment as a law enforcement officer.”
Sheriff Walton disagrees with the jury, “We the People Oklahoma,” and the scores of community members who are bothered by his choice to hire Shelby. He says Shelby is a “girl” who has been “tried and tested.” News 9 reports that he called his decision a “no-brainer.” Shelby will begin immediately.
SOURCE: News 9