Former Tulsa police officer Betty Shelby, seen here in a picture provided by the county jail in September 2016, will not face federal civil rights charges over her fatal shooting of a black motorist (HO)

Chicago (AFP) – The US Justice Department declined Friday to pursue civil rights charges against a white Oklahoma police officer who shot dead an unarmed black motorist in a 2016 confrontation.

Authorities said there was insufficient evidence to prosecute Betty Shelby, a police officer in the city of Tulsa who fatally shot 40-year-old Terence Crutcher after his car stalled in the middle of a street.

Shelby claimed Crutcher was unresponsive to commands during their encounter. She said she shot him when he reached into his vehicle, fearing he might retrieve a weapon. 

The shooting was caught on video by a police helicopter and dashcams — sparking protests and accusations of police abuse. 

Shelby, who is no longer a cop, was acquitted of manslaughter in a 2017 jury trial. 

Federal authorities had opened a civil rights probe, but said Friday they had closed their investigation. 

The Justice Department said it could not prove that Shelby used unreasonable force — and could not disprove her claim of self-defense.  

“The evidence in this case did not support pursuing criminal prosecution,” Trent Shores, the federal prosecutor for the Northern District of Oklahoma, said in a statement. 

The burden of proof for federal civil rights investigations is high. Authorities had examined both testimony from the manslaughter trial and evidence gathered by Oklahoma authorities, according to the Justice Department.

“Mistake, misperception, negligence or poor judgment are not sufficient to establish a federal criminal civil rights violation,” it said in a statement. 

The Oklahoma Chief Medical Examiner’s Office found hallucinogenic drugs in Crutcher’s body.  

Crutcher’s family has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit, seeking police reforms and financial compensation. 

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