The Latest: Tulsa police chief: Protests to remain peaceful

TULSA, Okla. – The Latest on the not guilty verdict in the manslaughter trial of a white Oklahoma police officer who fatally shot an unarmed black man (all times local):

10:50 a.m.

An Oklahoma police chief says his department will continue to uphold the public's right to protest following demonstrations after a Tulsa jury acquitted a white officer who fatally shot an unarmed black man.

About 100 demonstrators gathered outside a courthouse late Wednesday after the verdict was announced. Tulsa officer Betty Shelby had been charged with manslaughter in the killing of Terence Crutcher.

Police Chief Chuck Jordan said Thursday during a news conference that the protest was peaceful and he expects that to continue. Jordan said his officers de-escalated tensions. Police asked protesters not to block streets when some stepped into an intersection.

Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum said he respected the jury's decision but that the city still has racial disparities to change. He called Tulsa's racial divide the city's greatest moral issue.

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1:15 am.

A jury has acquitted a white Oklahoma police officer who says she fired out of fear last year when she killed an unarmed black man with his hands held above his head.

The family of Terence Crutcher burst into tears and expressed outrage after jurors found Tulsa officer Betty Jo Shelby not guilty Wednesday of first-degree manslaughter in the Sept. 16 shooting. About 100 demonstrators later gathered outside the courthouse and some briefly blocked a main street.

Shelby testified that she fired out of fear because she said Crutcher didn't obey her commands and appeared to reach inside his SUV. Prosecutors told jurors that Shelby overreacted. They noted Crutcher had his hands in the air, partly confirmed by video taken from a dashboard camera and helicopter.