Less than two months after she was acquitted of manslaughter and returned to work, Officer Betty Jo Shelby is resigning from the Tulsa Police Department.
Shelby issued a statement today through the Tulsa chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police. She said her desk job makes her feel isolated from her fellow officers and the citizens of Tulsa.
Shelby has been at TPD in that capacity since being reinstated in late May.
On May 17, Shelby was acquitted of manslaughter for the fatal shooting of Terence Crutcher eight months prior. Shelby said she feared for her life when Crutcher, a black man who was unarmed, didn’t follow her orders and she thought he reached into his stalled SUV for a gun.
Shelby’s resignation is effective Aug. 3.
