Which movement are you with - Black Lives Matter ... All Lives Matter ... Blue Lives Matter? I have friends who relate to each of them. It seems like siding with one of these three movements is becoming like the political party affiliation on your voter registration card.

Me? I understand all points made and their validations. Are there black individuals who are shot and killed when the situation could have been de-escalated and not have ended in a fatality? Definitely. Is the killing of officers to avenge the deaths of those black people OK? Absolutely not.

Officer Betty Shelby of Tulsa Police Department, Tulsa, Okla., has been charged with first-degree manslaughter for the death of Terence Crutcher, Tulsa County District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler announced Sept. 22.

On Sept. 16, an encounter between Crutcher, Shelby and other department officers sparked social media outrage, especially when the video of the encounter was made public. In the majority of the video, Crutcher has his hands raised and is slowly walking to his vehicle, followed by officers.

The mayor of Tulsa, Dewey Bartlett, talked with NPR’s David Greene Sept. 21. In referencing the video captured by a police helicopter, Greene said to Bartlett, “I mean he (Terence Crutcher) has his hands up (and) appears to be cooperating before being tasered and shot. Am I missing something here?”

The mayor replied, “No, the video speaks for itself.”

What is difficult for the police department, and now the U.S. Department of Justice with its federal investigation, is there is no direct verbal communication recorded between Crutcher and the officers.

During a news conference Sept. 19, the department’s Police Chief Chuck Jordan said officers found no gun on Crutcher or in his vehicle.

Representing Shelby, Attorney Scott Wood told Tulsa World, a daily newspaper and website, Shelby thought Crutcher might be under the influence of PCP, an illegal drug, because of the way he was acting. A police department official confirmed to Tulsa World Sept. 20 PCP was found in Crutcher’s vehicle.

Wood told the daily newspaper Shelby said Crutcher did not obey her commands to take his hands out of his pockets and to get on his knees.

Like many who watched the video, read news outlet reports and followed ongoing updates, I have questions, especially could this situation have been handled differently?

• Was the driver-side window open for Crutcher to reach into the vehicle, or was it shut? (It is hard to tell in the original video; Wood informed Tulsa World Shelby said she was afraid Crutcher was reaching inside his vehicle for something, while Attorney Benjamin Crump, representing the Crutchers, said during a news conference Sept. 20 blood can be seen on the window when looking at an enhanced shot of the image in the police video.)

• When the other officer at the scene, Tyler Turnbough, used his Taser around the same time Shelby fired her gun, could using just the Taser have been enough to keep the situation under control and keep Crutcher alive?

• If still using her gun, could Shelby have shot to wound, not shot to kill, and de-escalated the situation?

All of these questions - plus many more - need answers.

No matter what lives you feel matter, this case should come down to the facts and a determination if the outcome justified those facts - or not, possibly leading to a racist killing. Right now, there are many unanswered questions that could define who was at fault and who was at risk.

I hope local, state and federal investigations find out exactly what happened that deadly Friday evening.

Stacey Koch

editorial assistant

Catasauqua Press

Northampton Press

Whitehall-Coplay Press