Officer Betty Shelby breaks silence on Terence Crutcher shooting:

I watched this segment on CBS the other night; the way I see it, it was a very tough call to make.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/terence-crutcher-unarmed-black-man-shooting-60-minutes/

It should not matter if this man was black, white, green or yellow. If he was a drug-user or of he had previous run-ins with the law.

The situation Officer Shelby was faced with was a car that was left running, parked in the middle of a street with no one in it. A man that appeared to be impaired, walking down the middle of the street for no apparent reason.

When the man was challenged by the officer, he did put his hands in the air.  She ordered the man to stop, get on his knees but he refused to comply when her orders.

Based on the officer’s experience, she felt that he was under the influence of drugs which was later substantiated in a blood test.

The suspect continued to walk toward his car.  The officer repeatedly told him to stop and put his hands on the car. He could have easily stopped at the rear of the car and complied but continued to the side of the car where the window was open.

According to the officer, when he reached the side of his car he reached into the vehicle.  This was not visible on the video.

Being fearful for her life, the officer shot and killed the man.  This is what officers of the law are trained to do.

No weapon was found in the car.

If the man would have followed the officer’s instructions and the circumstances were of a normal nature, he would have still been alive today.

This was the first time officer Shelby used her weapon in a potential self-defense situation.

It only takes but a millisecond for someone to grab a gun out of a car and fire.

IT is a very unfortunate situation. There are a lot of IF’s that come into play.

One question I would like to ask ANYONE in that situation; WHAT WOULD YOU DO under similar conditions?? Monday mornings quarterbacks are a dime a dozen.

If the officer had a habitual record of using her weapon unnecessarily, it may have been an entirely different story.

WHAT WOULD YOU DO

It is very easy to sit back and judge anyone.

IF Officer Shelby is guilty of anything, it should only be of using poor judgment.

I hope that common sense prevails after her the trial no matter what the outcome is.  BUT, always the BIG BUT, if she is found not guilty, batten down the hatches folks, there is going to be a firestorm.