Autopsy: Tulsa Police Victim Had PCP in System When He Died

An unarmed Oklahoma man shot dead by a police officer after his car broke down on a city street last month had the hallucinogenic drug PCP in his system when he died, a medical examiner said Tuesday.

Terence Crutcher, 40, had "acute phencyclidine intoxication" when he died Sept. 16. Officer Betty Jo Shelby was charged with first-degree manslaughter after his death, with a prosecutor saying she reacted unreasonably when Crutcher disobeyed her commands.

Medical literature says PCP, also known as Angel Dust, can induce euphoria and feelings of omnipotence as well as agitation, mania and depression.

Videos from a police helicopter and a dashboard camera showed Crutcher walking away from Shelby on a North Tulsa street with his arms in the air, but the footage does not offer a clear view of when Shelby fired the single shot.

Tulsa police had said previously that they had found a vial of PCP in Crutcher's SUV — and the police officer's lawyer said she had completed drug-recognition training and believed Crutcher might have been under the influence of drugs.

According to an eight-page report from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Oklahoma City, Crutcher suffered a "penetrating gunshot wound of chest" and noted both of Crutcher's lungs were pierced and that he had four broken ribs. In addition to saying Crutcher had PCP in his system, it said he was obese and had too much cholesterol in his gallbladder. The examiner recovered a bullet fragment from Crutcher's left chest.

Lawyers for Crutcher's family have said previously that even if drugs were present, the shooting wasn't justified.

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