When it comes to Tulsa Police Officer Betty Shelby, many in law enforcement have chosen to keep silent but one Oklahoma Sheriff has been speaking up for months.
Rogers County Sheriff Scott Walton wrote a letter supporting Shelby before her trial and filmed a video showing how quick a police officer can be killed by letting someone go back to their vehicle.
This week he said he would have no problem hiring Shelby and he questions why others have been silent.
He said that the support he has given was never shown from her own department.
“I think the ones that should have been there for her showed no presence. That’s concerning to me,” said Walton.
Walton said it came instead from the people of Tulsa.
“I’m thankful that 12 good jurors faced a difficult choice and made the right one as far as I’m concerned,” said Walton.
The experience, Walton said, has redefined what survival means to law enforcement officers everywhere.
“I used to think that survival meant a police officer goes home at the end of their shift, unharmed and alive,” said Walton. “I now think street survival is, I didn’t get prosecuted today.”