A jury found Tulsa police officer Betty Jo Shelby not guilty of first degree manslaughter Wednesday night.
Shelby, who is white, fatally shot an unarmed black man last year.
The jury reached its verdict after deliberating for just over nine hours Tuesday.
People in a crowd outside the courthouse voiced their discontent with the verdict. Law enforcement responded to the scene.
The crowd took to the streets and marched to the Mayo Hotel, where Shelby was believed to be staying, chanting. They later blocked off Denver and marched toward Guthrie Green after police showed up in riot gear.
Tulsa Officer Betty Jo Shelby says she shot 40-year-old Terence Crutcher out of fear because she said he didn’t obey commands to lie on the ground and appeared to reach inside his SUV for what she thought was a gun.
Prosecutors told jurors that Shelby overreacted, arguing that Crutcher had his hands in their air and wasn’t combative.
The shooting was among a spate of officer-involved shootings in recent years that helped galvanize the Black Lives Matter movement and prompted calls for more police accountability.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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