Opinion: In Tulsa, an officer is charged for what looks like a bad shooting. Here in L.A., we’re still waiting

The Tulsa, Okla., police officer who shot an unarmed African American man to death after his vehicle broke down in the middle of the street was charged with first-degree manslaughter Thursday, less than a week after the incident.

It was quick work by any measure, and surely many will argue that Officer Betty Shelby is being thrown under a bus so that the city can avoid the same violence that is tearing up Charlotte, N.C., where another African American man was killed by police this week.

Or perhaps it just wasn’t that tough a call. The shooting was videotaped and that recording was shared with the public, and clearly Crutcher was walking away from officers with his hands up before he was shot to death.

In any case, it’s interesting to compare the rapid timing in Tulsa with a similar shooting in L.A. more than a year ago that has still not been resolved.

In May 2015, a homeless man, Brendon Glenn, was shot by a Los Angeles police officer during a scuffle. The officer said he thought Glenn was going for his gun. The incident was also video-recorded, though it was not shared with the public. But it must have been pretty damning, because Police Chief Charlie Beck indicated shortly after the incident that it didn’t look good.

“Any time an unarmed person is shot by a Los Angeles police officer, it takes extraordinary circumstances to justify that,” Beck said. “I have not seen those extraordinary circumstances.” LAPD investigators also concluded the shooting was not justified. Beck went so far as to say the officer should face criminal charges when handing over the case to Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey. That was in December. Lacey still hasn’t said whether she will file charges against the officer.

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